Edhi head office in Karachi finds itself submerged

Flooding disrupts relief work, forcing volunteers to set up makeshift office on sidewalks

KARACHI:

What do rescuers do when torrential rains even submerge their operations? If you're the Edhi Foundation, which found its head office at Tower inundated by rainwater in the wake of this week's record-breaking downpours, you set up shop on the sidewalks and continue your relief work without a pause.

Following the thunderstorms, Edhi workers set up a makeshift office on the footpaths next to the flooded street. With walkie-talkies in each hand, they sat on bricks as they coordinated relief efforts.

According to Edhi Foundation spokesperson Saad Edhi, the welfare organisation's teams had been facing extreme inconvenience in serving the people due to the disruption at their office, but they continued their work. "The rainwater rose as high as three feet in our office, damaging all our equipment, including our communication gear," he said.

"We have an old affiliation with Karachi's footpaths and so we have no hesitation in working from there, but the impact of the rain on our rescue services can worsen the problems that citizens are facing," explained Saad, adding that not only were they facilitating those affected by the downpours but they were also providing ambulance services for Ashura processions.

"We are also encountering challenges because we do not have 4x4 vehicles to access the flooded areas or transport boats there," he went on to say. "One such car is stuck at the port because of tax clearance," he added, claiming that the government had not waived import duties on rescue boats for them either.

He appealed to the government to waive import duties and taxes on the equipment they required in order to continue rescue services and relief operations.