Plea against insanitation in age-old graveyard.

HYDERABAD: A division bench of the Sindh High Court (SHC) on Thursday issued notices to the chief administrator of Auqaf, Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) managing director, director general of the Hyderabad Development Authority (HDA) and regional heads of the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA), Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC), Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (HMC) and Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (Hesco) on a petition questioning insanitation in the Meeran jo Qabrastan graveyard of the city, which dates back to 1878.

Notices were issued for March 14 on a joint constitutional petition filed by Qambar Ali and 16 others. Represented by Jawad Qureshi advocate, the petitioners informed the bench that the graveyard was located in Tando Mir Mohammad Jurial Shah Colony on land measuring 214 acres allotted on July 16, 1878. An entry was made in the revenue record.

The petitioners, residents of Tando Mir Mohammad, stated that their ancestors were buried in the graveyard.

They said the staff of HMC, Auqaf department and divisional administration failed to perform their duties and did not take action against encroachments and other illegal activities there. In collusion with the HMC and Auqaf department staff, people encroached the land reserved for the graveyard and constructed multistorey buildings, they said, adding that the residents of adjoining areas also started encroachments on the land of graveyard by using it as godown and storage of waste material.

They said livestock, including camels and other animals, along with their carts were also kept there. The petitioners said land grabbers were stealing electricity and gas, but the SSGC and Hesco failed to take any action because they had monetary interests. They disclosed that the HMC staff threw waste on the graves and Wasa staff were using graveyard as a drainage pond to release waste water from drains/gutters only to cause damage to graves and tombs.

The petitioners stated that after waste...