Monsoon rains to grace Karachi soon

Rainfall system to enter from eastern border and hit Tharparkar first

SUKKUR/ HYDERABAD/ KARACHI: Karachi will soon welcome more blessings from the skies as a new rainfall system is forecasted to hit Sindh’s coast starting tonight.

According to a weather advisory issued by the Pakistan Meteorological Department, lower Sindh will receive moderate rainfall between Tuesday and Thursday this week.



A system of low pressure has entered the province of Sindh from India and it will bring moderate rainfall in the region, said Regional Meteorological Centre director Dr Abdul Rashid. The system will enter Sindh from the eastern border in the early hours of Tuesday and will hit Tharparkar and Mithi Tuesday night. Karachi is also going to receive moderate downpours.

Heavier rainfall is expected on Wednesday, said Dr Rashid, adding that the maximum amount of rain in Karachi will be 50mm.

Are we ready?

All departments have been taken on board and all employees have been called back from their leaves, said Karachi Metropolitan Corporation spokesperson Ali Hassan Sajid. Keeping in mind severe traffic jams that resulted during the rains a few weeks ago, Sajid said they are focusing on cleaning nullahs.

The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) has also directed the district administrations to brace for the rain fall. PDMA spokesperson Muhammad Shafi warned there are chances of urban flooding in Karachi if nullahs are not properly cleaned.

Electricity suppliers, such as Hyderabad Electric Supply Company, Sukkur Electric Supply Company and K-Electric, have also been told to ensure continuous supply to water pumping stations.

The health department has also told hospitals to stay on alert, said health department’s rain emergency focal person Dr Syed Zafar Mehdi. All district health officers and medical superintendents are advised to ensure availability of all essential medicines, doctors and paramedical staff, he added.

Choked nullahs in Hyderabad

Unclean drain and choked nullahs are likely to turn the pleasant weather cumbersome for Hyderabad residents. The major drains including Doman Wah in City taluka and Wadu Wah in Qasimabad besides the storm drains in different parts of the district have yet to undergo de-silting, claimed residents.



“The bed level of Doman Wah - a former fresh water channel such as Wadu Wah, which has been turned into a drain snaking a few kilometres through downtown of City taluka - has risen at many locations and in some places the silt and garbage has turned the drain into solid ground,” said Abid Qureshi, a resident of Teen Number Talab area.

A resident of Liaquat Colony, Irfan Malik, recalled that this drain flooded his area during monsoon rains in August 2013. “Over the last many years, we have noticed only ad hoc measures of cleaning the drain before or after the rain,” he complained. “But the government doesn’t build a proper covered drainage system that can’t be filled with solid waste like this one.”

Deputy commissioner Mutassam Abbasi claimed, however, that this drain and the other storm drains that fall in it have been cleaned so they can carry the rainwater without spilling out.

The administration claimed to have de-silted desilted several kilometres from Sattar Shah pumping station to Odion cinema, alRaheem Shopping Center to Tulsi Das pumping station and Latifabad Unit 12 to Darya Khan pumping station. The DC said all the 122 sewerage pumping stations in City, Latifabad and Qasimabad talukas are working and that they are equipped to drain out the rainwater.

An emergency control room with phone numbers 022-9200245 and 022-9200571 has also been established to deal with complaints about drain overflows. Hesco, whose 84 electricity feeders reportedly developed faults during the June 28 rainfall recorded at 18mm, has also set up a rain emergency centre, said Hesco spokesperson Sadiq Kubar.

Light rain for Sukkur

As lower Sindh braces for moderate rainfall, upper Sindh will only receive light showers. Perhaps due to this forecast, Sukkur administration has made no preparations to deal with increased water flow in drains. Neither have the choked manholes been cleared and nor has garbage been removed.

The forecast has been welcomed by date farmers of Khairpur as their crop is almost ready for picking and heavy rainfall at this time could bring extensive financial losses to them. “I own 500 date trees and the fruit is ready to pick. I am praying the rainfall isn’t too heavy,” said Muhammad Pannah, a date farmer.

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