Threat of urban flooding

In a recent statement, the Karachi mayor has said the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation does not have the required funds to clean storm-water drains before the start of the rainy season. He has also pointed out that most drains in the city are choked and if they are not cleaned before the rainy season begins, the city will witness urban flooding. Last year, Karachi had had several spells of heavy rains, resulting in scenes of urban flooding. The recent statement of the KMC mayor and the nightmarish experience of last year should be sending shivers down the spines of Karachi residents. According to the mayor, the Sindh government paid the KMC Rs437 million in 2016, when an administrator was at the KMC helm, and later Rs1.272 billion were to be paid to the KMC in 2017-18 on the directives of the Supreme Court, but Rs722 million has not been paid. The World Bank is to give the KMC Rs8 million for cleanliness. The disbursement of this amount is, however, getting delayed, Mayor Waseem Akhtar has urged the provincial government to help expedite the matter.

The present mayor has continuously been complaining of lack of funds with the KMC. A tug of war has long been going on particularly between the local governments of Karachi and Hyderabad, and as a result the common people are suffering. Karachi, though, contributes the largest chunk to the federal and provincial revenues. The mayor claims Karachi and other urban areas of Sindh are being subjected to official neglect. There are many who subscribe to this view. Civic infrastructure in Karachi has crumbled. It suffers from water and power shortages, roads and gutters are in a state of neglect, and this sprawling city of over 20 million has no public transport worth the name. So in view of the fast approaching rainy season, all tiers of government need to join hands to protect Karachi residents from a repetition of last year’s bitter experience. 

Published in The Express Tribune, June 23^rd, 2020.

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