Monsoon has arrived: City wakes up to sound of rain

Excitement of monsoon dampened by power breakdowns, flooded streets

KARACHI: On Saturday morning, the city woke up to the sound of rain as a heavy monsoon shower finally descended.

The excitement of the much-awaited rainfall was somewhat dampened by the power breakdowns and flooded streets. Nevertheless, a large number of residents took to the streets and many made their way down to Clifton beach. The highest recorded rainfall was 55mm at Sharae Faisal.

Riazuddin, who was driving a single-cabin Suzuki van, was driving around eight of his family members sitting in the open trunk. "I took an off from my factory and my family insisting on going on a picnic," he said.

Others decided to make the most of the continuous power outages. Muhammad Ismail, a resident of Gulistan-e-Jauhar Block 13, went to Sea View with his family as there was no electricity at home. "We couldn't stay in our apartment so we decided to enjoy the beautiful weather at the beach."

Farhan Ahsan and his friends also enjoyed a game of volleyball, saying they hardly get the chance to celebrate this weather in Karachi.

Flooded streets

Some other residents were not so lucky. Mohsin Ahmed of Shadman Town, which comes under District Central, spent the morning placing sandbags outside his gate to prevent garbage strewn water from entering his house. Workers in District Central were seen cleaning up the streets but the years of garbage piled in nullahs choked the drains and led to submerged roads in most areas.

Meanwhile, District Central deputy commissioner Fariduddin Mustufa told The Express Tribune that this was normal post-rain situation. He blamed encroachments for overflowing drains and nullahs, and pointed out how the recent clean-up of Gujjar Nullah has improved the situation there.

Officials in District East were also working since Friday night, claimed District East deputy commissioner Asif Jan Siddiqui, adding that their main priority was clearing the main arteries. Even Karachi commissioner Ejaz Ahmed Khan said they will refocus to residential areas once the main roads are cleared.

Among the worst affected areas were Saddar's Empress Market, Jumma Gali and the streets in front of Governor and Chief Minister houses. Drigh Road, Karsaz Road, Shafiq Morr, Baloch Colony flyover, Nipa, University Road, Nagan Chowrangi and Buffer Zone were also flooded until late on Saturday.

Moreover, all the underpasses in the city filled with water and were closed for traffic. Nazimabad resident Samin Salman had to turn back from Gharibabad underpass as her car could not pass through. KMC's senior municipal director Masood Alam said that water couldn't find its way out and started accumulating inside the underpass due to the carpeted roads. This fault, he assured, will be removed by the next rain spell. "We have installed dewatering pumps at 13 spots in the city so that no water stays on the roads," he said.

As for DHA and Cantonment Board Clifton, its spokesperson Amir Arab said they have established 25 rain emergency camps. All main thoroughfares were cleared immediately and, by Saturday night, the internal streets will also be cleaned, he said.

Electricity breakdown

As always, the rain brought incessant power outages. "There was no electricity for a stretch of six hours," complained DHA Phase V resident Haider Khan.

Power was out from around 6pm to 11:30pm on Friday evening, shared Muhammad Shahid, a resident of Gulistan-e-Jauhar Block 13. "It [electricity] went out at least three times on Saturday for an hour or two, each."

Frequent power breakdowns when it rains in Karachi have become common, said Mujahid Hussain, who lives near Cantt Station. "Now we [the citizens] don't expect uninterrupted power supply by K-Electric even when it drizzles."

Despite the resumption of power, voltage issues persisted, according to Ali Rizvi, a resident of Gulshan-e-Iqbal. "We did not switch on our appliances due to fear of losing them entirely," he said, adding that the customer service representatives at K-Electric kept saying a team can only be sent once the rain stopped, in cases of localised problems.

Meanwhile, KE insisted their teams were on duty at all times. "Eighty per cent of Karachi is being supplied with electricity after the rainfall that hit the city on Friday," claimed KE chief marketing and communications officer Fakhar Ahmed.

Due to power breakdown at Gharo and Dhabeji pumping stations, water supply was halted for around 20 hours, said Karachi Water and Sewerage Board's (KWSB) engineer Sikander Ali Zardari. Once electricity resumes, it will take at least 48 hours to restore proper supply to the city," he said, adding that the city is currently facing a shortage of 600MGD of water.

KE's Ahmed pointed out that all faults were in extra-high tension lines and the feeder at Dhabeji pumping station and other strategic installations have been restored.

Hub Dam water level rises

On a happier note, the water level at Hub Dam, one of the city's water supplies, rose to 289 feet, said, adding that the level was measured at 285 feet before Friday's rain. Meanwhile, Meteorological Centre's regional director Abdul Rashid said the rain system will get weaker from Sunday.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 7^th, 2016.