Instead of rejoicing, residents worry about rain

Like every year, the DMC sent out vehicles to clean the drains but forgot to take back the garbage they lifted

KARACHI: Residents of North Karachi remember how the 2013 monsoon rain wreaked havoc in the area. Measuring at 126.2mm, the rain not only inundated the main roads of North Karachi but it also entered people’s houses.

On Monday, North Karachi’s Sector 11-L resident Muhammad Hasban was perturbed when the met office forecasted moderate to heavy rainfall in the city this year. Standing beside a drain that flows in front of his house, he recalled how water gushed out of the drain and entered his house.



Like every year, the Central District Municipal Corporation (DMC) sent out vehicles to clean the drains but forgot to take back the garbage they lifted, pointed out Hasban. Karachi Metropolitan Corporation’s (KMC) municipal services senior director Masood Alam explained they have to leave it on the road to dry up for a few hours. “As soon as the garbage is dried, it is shifted to the landfill sites,” he said.

Similarly, residents of Buffer Zone, who live close to the KBR nullah, were also apprehensive about the weather forecast. They are remembered the ill-fated family that drowned in the garbage-filled drain. The government has only erected cement walls on both sides of the small bridge behind Café Piyala following the incident. However, the nullah has yet to be cleaned of garbage.

According to one of the residents, Muhammad Arshad there is more than three feet of solid trash accumulated on the rain drain. The city administration has yet to clean it, he said.

In the aftermath of the heavy rainfall in 2013, parts of Gadap Town, such as Madina Colony, Saadi Town, Fatima Society, KESC Society, Rim Jhim Towers, Safoora Chowk, Bhittaiabad and Haji Ramzan Goth, were also inundated.

The flood wave passed through various drains and nullahs from the highway and entered Saadi Town and Madina Colony. Since the terrain sloped downwards nearly 12 feet towards Safoora Goth, the water also rushed down carrying with it vehicles along the way. The army had to be called in and around 300 people were rescued on boats.



A resident of Saadi Town, Muhammad Safdar, recalled how a resident of the Amroha Society, located adjacent to Saadi Town, was caught in the water current. His body was recovered 22 days later. “One of the residents literally broke the surrounding walls of Saadi Town with his jeep so that the water could gush out,” he said. If the drains are not cleaned properly, this year too, the area will drown, he feared.

Government (in)action

Where the residents are terrified with impending rainfall, the Sindh government is missing in action. Central DMC administrator Aisha Abro and her colleagues was unavailable for comments despite repeated phone calls and an attempt to meet in person.

East deputy commissioner (DC) Asif Jan Siddiqui assured that the rain drain that flows near Saadi Town has been cleaned. The drain flows towards Malir Cantt, where machineries are already deployed for the cleaning process and they will ensure that no rain water enters Saadi Town, he explained.

In coordination with West DC, the channels under Northern Bypass have been opened up and the water will most likely flow towards Lyari River, said Siddiqui. “If enormous amount of water comes then only it will go towards Saadi Town, for which the rain drains have been cleared,” he said.

On the other hand, KMC’s Alam said that they have outsourced all the 30 nullahs under their jurisdiction for cleaning. “Contactors are cleaning the drains on site,” he said, adding that the cleaning work kicked off four to five days before Eid.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 12^th, 2016.