‘Cleaning drains not a solution to flooding’

28 committees assigned drainage monitoring

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah said on Tuesday that cleaning drains was not enough to solve Karachi's flooding problem and ordered the formation of 28 sub-divisional committees, comprising ministers, advisors and special assistants, to monitor the situation in the city so that timely arrangements could be made for the disposal of rainwater.

"I need a solid mechanism for saving low-lying areas where rainwater has flooded houses," the chief minister (CM) said while presiding over a meeting held to review the post-monsoon situation following a two-day rain spell in the metropolis.

Addressing the meeting, the CM said, "Buildings have been constructed over natural aqueducts [and] there are encroachments along drains due to which rainwater does not pass through." Stating this, he called for local bodies to have a proper water drainage mechanism in place.

"Local bodies should have a plan to deal with rain emergencies in the city," he said, adding that the plan may be similar to one devised by the irrigation department.

He then elaborated, "The irrigation department has a protection plan with respect to canal embankments, as a part of which they mark vulnerable and weak points and take prompt action in case of riverine floods." Local bodies should have a similar plan under which low-lying areas, choking points, bottlenecks, culverts of nullahs and their catchment areas should be identified on a map so that the deployment of relevant staff and necessary machinery can be installed in case of heavy downpour, he added.

"I need a detailed plan of areas where water seeped inside houses," he further stated, adding that the plan of all 28 sub-divisions of the city was to be submitted to him. "I will assign the duty of a minister or advisor to each sub-division for ensuring the proper draining of rainwater," he said.

Besides, he added, the plan was to be devised in consultation with the best engineers of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board, Sindh Solid Waste Management Authority, Karachi Metropolitan Corporation and district municipal corporations (DMCs).

The CM also directed Sindh Local Government Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah to remove encroachments from nullahs.

At this, the local government minister said that he was on the roads during the rains.

"Water was drained from main causeways as soon as the rain stopped," he claimed. "However, some problems were caused in areas where drains were choked" Shah acknowledged.

Following this, the CM issued directives for fixing designs of roads and drains that were flawed.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 29^th, 2020.