A week after rain: SC orders cleanliness in Karachi

Areas submerged in rainwater will have to be visited in a boat, judge remarks

KARACHI: The Supreme Court (SC) took on Tuesday notice of the failure of the provincial and local authorities concerned to maintain cleanliness in the city after the first spell of the pre-monsoon rain wreaked havoc to the civic infrastructure.

The apex court verbally directed the provincial chief secretary to ensure the city was cleaned of the filth as well as stagnant rainwater, which had submerged various thoroughfares and localities.

A three-judge bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Gulzar Ahmed, gave these directions during the hearing of a case regarding encroachments over the bank of a canal in Sukkur, at the SC's Karachi Registry Branch.



Heavy rains had lashed the metropolis starting last Thursday, as the pre-monsoon system entered the region, resulting in heavy rains across the country.

The rains exposed the efficiency of the civic agencies in the city, where the tug-of-war between the Pakistan Peoples Party-led provincial government and Muttahida Qaumi Movement-led Karachi Metropolitan Corporation had created hurdles in proper lifting and disposal of the garbage as well as cleaning of the major sewerage and rainwater drains.

The maladministration, on part of the provincial and local authorities, had led to poor pre-monsoon arrangements to cope with the rainy monsoon season.



Several residential localities as well as the commercial district in downtown had submerged under several feet of rainwater mixed with sewerage.

The apex court's bench, which also included Justices Maqbool Baqar and Sajjad Ali Shah, found that the poor sanitation conditions had not improved even after the lapse of a whole week.

Therefore, they took notice of the poor drainage system that had led to the inundation of the main road in front of the apex court's registry branch.

The judges inquired from the chief secretary, Rizwan Memon, who was appearing in court in connection with other cases, on why the administration had failed to effectively cope with the situation that arose post-rains in the city.



Justice Gulzar Ahmed told the top provincial bureaucrat that there were several localities, which had almost submerged during the rain.
The judge further told the officer that according to media reports, the residents in Korangi and other parts of the city were even unable to get out of their houses.

He inquired from the chief secretary why he had not paid a visit to such localities, where citizens were facing great difficulty after the rain. "You will have to visit such areas in a boat," the judge remarked.

"Alright," Memon replied, adding that the city will soon be cleaned.

"Nothing is alright," the apex court bench's head told the officer.



"The city is in a bad condition," Justice Ahmed said, drawing attention of the top provincial government officer, who is supposed to supervise and look after civil works in the entire province.

The bench members expressed their extreme displeasure over the poor state of administration, which had not fulfilled its duties to remove the filth as well as ensure smooth flow of the sewerage water in the drains, which were overflowing and inundating various roads, streets, main arteries as well as commercial and residential areas across the city.

The bench directed Memon to get the city cleaned of the mess created during last week's rains.

The bench also gave two weeks time to the Sindh Building Control Authority and other officials to file comments regarding the ownership of 4.7 acres of land along the canal in Sukkur which was allegedly encroached by private persons.