Meeting reviews preparedness to combat rain emergencies

The Karachi Commissioner, Muhammad Iqbal Memon has asked the deputy commissioners to coordinate with the civic agencies in order to finalise a line of action to handle the situation during the expected monsoon rains.

During a meeting he chaired at his chairmanship it was decided that all civic agencies would prepare contingency plans which would be reviewed by the concerned deputy commissioner for taking effective steps for implementation.

Commissioner asked the KMC, DMCs, water and sewerage boards, cantonment boards, disaster management authority, Sindh Solid Waste Management Board and other civic agencies to develop contingency plans in this regard.

The meeting discussed all the issues related to the rain emergency and took decisions to do the needful to do away with the post-rain difficulties, and provide relief to the citizens.

KMC informed the meeting that arrangements were being made to initiate the cleaning of storm water drains across the city for which comprehensive plans have been finalised. In this regard tenders have been floated by the KMC for carrying out cleaning of nullahs for ensuring the smooth flow of storm water during the monsoon rains.

It was decided in the meeting that KMC would ensure proper disposal of garbage lifted from drains. Commissioner asked the KMC to ensure that all possible choking points of all nullahs are cleared in coordination with the deputy commissioners.

The meeting also decided to carry out mock exercises in all the districts to check the preparedness and availability of required machineries and trained staff to combat the rain emergency.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 13^th, 2022.