‘Choked water drains have up to 5ft of silt’

Traffic jams have prevented water from receding.

KARACHI: Rain water pooling on the city roads takes a long time to drain because the storm water drains in the city are choked with silt, said Khuda Bux, the district officer of municipal services.

According to him, the town municipal administrators neglect regular de-silting of the drains, and the traffic jams across the city made the water flow down even slower.

According to meteorologist Akhlaque Jamil, the most rain was recorded in Saddar: 85mm on Saturday and 38mm on Sunday.

Bux said that rain water needs three to four hours to drain. There are seven natural stormwater drains which empty directly into the Arabian Sea - Kalri Drain, Pitcher Drain, Soldier Bazaar Drain, Nehr-e Khayam, Manzoor Colony Drain, Chakoora Drain and the Railway Drain. Gujjar Nullah and the Orangi Nullah also carry water to the sea after merging with the Lyari river. Two more drains, at Songal and Korangi, also end up in the sea after merging with the Malir and Lyari rivers.

Bux said that de-silting of the storm water drains should be the top priority of the city government and town administrators. At least five feet of silt should be removed from them.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 13^th,  2011.