Displaced families decry govt's apathy towards resettlement.

KARACHI -- The Sindh government was on Friday reminded of its responsibility to rehabilitate the people whose houses were demolished to revamp Orangi Nullah within two years as per the Supreme Court order.

A joint protest over the provincial government's apathy towards the victims was organised by the Karachi Bachao Tehreek (KBT) and Orangi Mutasireen Committee (OMC) outside the Karachi Press Club here on Friday.

Despite the passing of over a year since the demolitions, the provincial government is yet to determine a place for the victims' rehabilitation, which is an abuse and a violation of the law, the protesters said.

Arsalan Anjum, head of the OMC and member of the KBT coordination committee, said that the government, in the name of the apex court, brutally demolished houses along Orangi Nullah as well as other working class neighbourhoods, which had complete documentation.

KBT demands Sindh govt provide alternative houses to victims of Orangi Nullah demolitions

'All this was done so that corrupt construction companies, the builder mafia and politicians could collude to make billions of rupees off these demolitions and the consequent construction projects. However, the same Supreme Court's order to provide alternative housing and rehabilitation is yet to be implemented. The Sindh government does not want any land to be given to the working class. Instead, they want to use all the land in Karachi to make huge profits in connivance with the builder mafia and construction companies,' he maintained.

Abira Ashfaq, KBT's legal secretary, warned the authorities that if the government thinks that this order of the SC will be forgotten with time, then it is their mistake. The KBT and victims will keep this struggle alive in courts and on the streets. 'We will fight for the basic right to housing and will not rest until every family gets a house,' she stated.

She said that they will continue to raise their voices on every forum of the world, including the United Nations.

'The KBT will also keep reminding the World Bank and other...