Karachi’s rain predicament

Between July and August 2020, Karachi received a heavy rain spell that resulted in urban flooding. The heavy rains in August 2020 broke a 53-year record compelling the former federal government to act. After the rains, former Prime Minister Imran Khan visited Karachi and announced the “Karachi Transformation Plan” (KTP) of 1.1 trillion rupees to revitalise the city’s storm drainage system, clean nullahs, remove illegal settlements, and encroachment established on “nullahs’ and improve the city’s infrastructure by rebuilding roads. The purpose of the plan was to prevent future devastation after heavy rains.

Nearly 100 projects were planned under the KTP, which included the Karachi bulk water supply scheme (K-4), circular railway, and waste disposal system. Unfortunately for Karachiites, the project never materialised. With the onset of the monsoon season, the city has already received more than 600 millimetres of rain and many roads have been inundated. Pakistan Meteorological Department’s (PMD) predictions of the upcoming monsoon rains in Karachi and across the country are alarming. It raises the question of whether there is an effective crisis management mechanism that can deal with the torrential rains in Karachi? After a long period of drought, Karachi and other parts of Pakistan are now receiving a substantial amount of monsoon rains. However, the government’s plan to seize this opportunity and utilise the rainwater by filling canals, lakes, ponds, rivers, and dams to cope with the future scarcity of water remains unclear.

Data from the last 60 years reveals that Karachi faced a record-high rainfall back in 1967, which was broken in 2020. In 1967, Karachi’s population was hardly 1.5 million, but in 2022 more than 30 million people live in the mega city. If the record of 2020 is broken in 2022, one cannot imagine how destructive it could be. The impact of climate change has already become apparent around the world. It was the Karachi administration’s responsibility to take early warnings seriously and form an emergency plan. Now Karachiites have grown increasingly fearful as the monsoon season has yet to conclude and it may take a toll on the city’s poor infrastructure. In the coming weeks, Karachiites may witness a collapse of the drainage system, overflowing nullahs, and human casualties.

In March 2015, the Senate’s Standing Committee on Science and Technology issued a letter to former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif “expressing fears of the seriousness of sea intrusion along the coastal areas of Sindh and Balochistan, which can result in the sinking of Badin and Thatta in 30 years, followed by Karachi.” The letter stressed that if the matter was not treated urgently, Karachi could sink by 2060. The letter gave several recommendations to the federal government. It also urged the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) to take preventive measures to deal with the situation. Despite this, the authorities remained negligent, and there is an increased likelihood that Karachi will soon be faced with double jeopardy. Heavy rains will cause mass destruction and the city may sink if the sea level further rises because of global warming and climate change.

Many Asian cities receive torrential rains i.e., Colombo, Mumbai, Singapore, and Kuala Lumpur. However, none of these cities is inundated with water because they all have an efficient drainage system. Karachi’s rain predicament has existed for too long and cannot be dealt with unless the city has an efficient administration. According to critics, Karachi contributes more than 55% of federal and 80% of provincial revenue, but the level of apathy and ownership on the part of those who consider themselves the custodians of the city is lamentable. Both provincial and federal governments must take ownership of the city.

It is not impossible to address Karachi’s rain crisis, but it will be an uphill task because there is a need for ownership, eliminating corruption, planning, utilising resources, and using scientific engineering tools. Also, eradicating illegal settlements, maintenance of nullahs, and ensuring that storm drainage systems are functioning is not as difficult as has been made by a few inefficient and corrupt officials.

Three measures need to be adopted to resolve the crisis emanating from monsoon rains in Karachi. First, a functional, efficient, accountable, and visionary local government system must be set up that has control over resources and a proper electoral mandate. For the last 75 years, Karachi has lacked active and committed leadership. Also, the mayor must be empowered and handed control of the Karachi Water Sewerage Board (KWSB) and other municipal bodies.

Second, projects carried out under the mayor and local government should be monitored so that public money is not wasted. The former Mayor of Karachi complained that he had little authority over the city. Therefore, the mayor and his administration should have authority and must be professional and avoid all political biases in their duties. The people should be able to trust their elected representatives.

Third, the local government should be given adequate resources so that it can run smoothly and handle and complete mega projects like solid waste management including garbage disposal, electricity generation from garbage, solar power projects, cottage industry, and an underground metro system. Urban transport must be revitalised, and rainwater should be conserved by constructing small dams like what Bahria Town has done on its premises.

Unfortunately, once the monsoon season is over and the devastation of rains has subsided, the entire episode will be forgotten, and no measures will be taken to prevent the city from future disasters. Every year, during the monsoon season, there is a hue and cry, and the authorities resort to their routine blame game. All political actors call each other out for criminal negligence, but no one accepts any responsibility. The authorities must realise that there is no quick fix solution to deal with the colossal destruction caused by rains in Karachi except to pursue the aforementioned measures with efficiency and integrity.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, July 17^th, 2022.

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