KARACHI:
Every year, the monsoon season wreaks havoc on Karachi’s infrastructure and residents. The streets become rivers, houses are inundated, and several people are killed because of electrocution, or wall collapses. As always, this time too, people were quick to express their anger on social media and question the authorities for their mismanagement and poor emergency response. Few individuals provided any insight into the issue of urban flooding and prevention measures.
In the past, many plans have been drawn up to mitigate the adverse impact of future heavy rainfall, yet the city continues to face destruction. One reason for this is the differences between stakeholders and the inability of the provincial government to cooperate with urban planning experts. Perhaps, all the relevant authorities should collaborate with local engineers, architects, and researchers to create sewerage and drainage systems to prevent urban flooding and refurbish existing drainage lines. Importantly, illegal construction of buildings over nullahs should be stopped as it obstructs the flow of the water. Infrastructure developments on natural drainage channels destroy the existing geological formations that once held naturally occurring drainage channels and water collection depressions. Thus, increasing the likelihood of urban flooding.
Poor management and a lack of regulation have led to an increase in informal infrastructure around major stormwater drainage lines, the absence of sustainable housing policy, and solid waste accumulation in the drains. Consequently, urban flooding has become a regular occurrence. It is high time that the Sindh government begins working with engineers, environmentalists, and urban planning experts to address Karachi’s drainage problems to prevent future disasters.
Maheen Ghous
Karachi
Published in The Express Tribune, July 15th, 2022.
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