Dewatering and KCR revival

An adviser to the Sindh government has said that rainwater in most localities of Karachi has been removed and faults in the sewerage system repaired because now there are no gutter overflows. It does not matter whether bright sunshine has evaporated the rain and gutter water or it is due to untiring efforts of the government. He also emphatically announced, on Tuesday, that encroachments across the city would be removed indiscriminately as it was unauthorised structures on and around stormwater drains that choked them with garbage.

This statement recalls to mind the recent statements of KMC officials that they would ensure that removal of encroachments did not render people homeless. The pronouncement came after people protested fearing homelessness during the recent campaign to remove illegal structures. The action was stopped after residents of affected areas protested. Even where earlier encroachments have been removed, the damaged pavements have been left unrepaired. This and accumulation of garbage have harmed businesses and many shops have shifted to other places. This situation has been persisting for the past several years.

The adviser has also talked about revival of the Karachi Circular Railway and criticised its inclusion in the Prime Minister’s Karachi Transformation Plan, insisting that since the restoration of KCR was part of CPEC, it cannot be included in the transformation plan. For the residents of Karachi and for visitors, the planned revival of KCR came as a ray of hope in a city where now public transport does not exist. However, the sad reality is that large tracts of railway lines have disappeared, and on KCR land, buildings have been constructed. It looks remotely possible to demolish such buildings especially when they come under jurisdictions of different organisations. One should buy the latest edition of gobbledygook dictionary to understand what politicians say.