Army kicks off drain cleaning operation

NDMA, CM highlight role of encroachments in blocking flow of rainwater

Pakistan Army teams have kicked off a cleanliness campaign in Karachi to assist the civil administration in removing dirt and garbage from the city’s major stormwater drains ahead of the upcoming monsoon spell which is set to hit the metropolis from August 7.

The army-run Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) personnel initiated cleaning operation at Gujjar nullah in Nazimabad with over 50 dumpers, cranes and other machinery to remove garbage, which had choked flow of water in the drain during recent monsoon rainfall and submerged adjacent area.

Sindh Rangers personnel have also been deployed at the site of the drain clearance work which is led by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). The garbage from the drain was to be immediately transferred to the landfill site.

Drain clearance work was also started at Cafe Piyala in Federal B Area, with heavy machinery and other equipment.

Last week, Prime Minister Imran Khan had asked the Pakistan Army and NDMA to help in cleaning up the economic hub of the country as the ongoing monsoon spell turned many roads into rivers of filthy rainwater and left houses and shops flooded.

Addressing a press conference on Sunday, NDMA chairperson Lt-Gen Muhammad Afzal said a two-pronged strategy had been devised in collaboration with stakeholders to avoid flash flood losses in Karachi permanently.

“We should give relief to people with joint, collaborative efforts. Flash flood losses will remain in check during August and September rains. Afterwards, a permanent solution will be in place for getting rid of flash floods,” he stated, adding that encroachments abounded around most of Karachi’s nullahs, reducing their width drastically.

Encroachments on nullahs

Meanwhile, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah claimed that the Sindh government regularly released funds to clean the city’s nullahs each year, but the task could not be properly completed due to encroachments. He added that the stormwater drains were resultantly choked when the provincial capital experienced heavy rainfall.

The CM was visiting different areas of Karachi on Monday, to review efforts to clean stormwater drains and remove animal waste during Eidul Azha.

The visit came days after the most recent spell of monsoon rain in the city led to localities being flooded with rainwater mixed with sewage, following which the National Disaster Management Authority, Pakistan Army’s Corps V and the Frontier Works Organisation were called in to help clean the nullahs.

“The nullahs are cleaned each year, but because of encroachments, some portions cannot be cleaned and thus they are choked during heavy downpours,” Shah claimed, adding that the city’s major drains were being cleaned under the World Bank (WB)-funded Solid Waste Emergency and Efficiency Project (SWEEP).

He further explained that the WB had not yet released any funds, explaining that the funds being utilised at the moment were released by the Sindh government from its own resources.

Green Line BRT

According to the CM, design issues in the Green Line bus rapid transit project had also played a significant role in the overflowing of nullahs on July 26 and July 27. “Central district municipal corporation chairperson Rehan Hashmi showed me the areas where the Green Line project’s pillars have either been constructed within the nullah or along the nullah, blocking the smooth flow of rainwater,” he stated.

Shah urged the Sindh Infrastructure Development Company Limited (SIDCL) to consult local experts before launching projects, in order to reduce the risk of duplicated efforts and defective design.

Briefing the CM at the site, Hashmi had explained that the Green Line project’s pillars had narrowed the drain, blocking the water and subsequently leading to the nullah overflowing and flooding the area.

He stated that the entire Green Line project tract from KDA Chowrangi to Nagan Chowrangi had been constructed along or within the nullah, adding that without rectifying this, the risk of urban flooding in the area could not be eradicated.

The CM assured him that he would take the matter up with the Centre.

Visiting Mehmoodabad nullah at Sharae Faisal as well, he gave orders for the drain to be reconstructed where it went under the road in a crooked manner.

Meanwhile, at Gujjar nullah, which saw severe flooding last week, residents complained to Shah about the inundation of their houses with sewage. In response, he directed Hashmi to clear their homes.

*With additional information

from DNA

Published in The Express Tribune, August 4^th, 2020