Residents marooned in Incholi Society for two days

Residents of the Incholi Cooperative Housing Society have been waiting for the last two days for government authorities to pump out water from their neighbourhood which was flooded after two nearby dams overflowed.

The entire Scheme 33 was inundated when Thadu and Lath dams overflowed, while Ancholi Society was hit the hardest. Many residents have evacuated their homes which have been weakened by waterlogging, while the floodwater entered Metroville and Abul Hassan Isphahani Road areas on Wednesday.

The road connecting Superhighway to Safoora Chawrangi, and the road leading to Superhighway from Mausamyat Mor have been submerged, making the movement of traffic almost impossible.

Ancholi Society has a total of 550 plots and around 200 of them have been submerged in several feet of water for the past two days, while no government agency or official has visited the area where people have been marooned.

According to residents, Thado dam overflowed and the water entered PCSIR Society, State Bank of Pakistan Society, Karachi University Employees Housing Society, Gwaliyar Society, Quetta Town, Punjabi Saudagaran, Shami Residency, New Ancholi, Madras Society, Muhammad Khan Goth and other societies of Scheme 33 through Sambal nullah. Residents suffered millions of rupees losses as floodwater destroyed their household items, while their vehicles have also been damaged. The water also brought down the boundary walls of these housing societies, leaving the residents unsafe.

Many families have locked their homes and temporarily shifted to safer areas of the city. They demanded of the authorities to immediately pump out floodwater from their housing societies to prevent their properties from further damage. They also demanded an immediate solution to future threats to Scheme 33 from overflowing of Thadu and Lath dams.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 28^th, 2022.