Saving lives: KMC issues monsoon guidelines

Asks people living near nullahs to move somewhere else when it rains

KARACHI: Keeping in mind the heavy showers at the end of June, the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) has issued a safety advisory for the next spell of monsoon rains in the city.

Sharing details with The Express Tribune, KMC spokesperson Ali Hasan Sajid explained that the advisory has been issued keeping in view the recent pre-monsoon rains in the city. He added that KMC, as an institution, wants to make the general public aware about the necessary precautions to be taken when it rains.

Sajid urged residents to avoid electric poles or open electric wires, since during the recent rain there were reports of deaths due to electrocution. He also requested people to check the walls and roofs of their houses as there are chances of a breach during heavy downpours. He said they have asked people living near nullahs to move somewhere else when it rains.

KMC has prepared short-term and long-term plans to get rid of nullah encroachments in the city. In the short-term plan, KMC will remove the encroachments from the choking points of the nullahs after Eidul Fitr. He added that the pace of the work will be slow due to the rainy season but they will manage.

The long-term plan includes the creation of service lanes alongside all the nullahs in the city, as encroachments have denied the KMC’s machinery access to the nullahs, thereby rendering them unable to properly clean them.

Citizens were advised to avoid dumping their garbage in the nullahs as plastic bags have proven to be the major choking material for the nullahs. All departments of the KMC will be open to assist citizens during the Eid holidays, said the spokesperson.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 5^th, 2016.