Clogged sewers add to monsoon meseries
According to data released by the PDMA, 14 people were killed in rain-related accidents in Karachi. PHOTO: EXPRESS
The recent monsoon rains have destroyed the sewerage infrastructure of Karachi as it could not sustain the huge flow of rainwater and the stinking sewage and slush oozed out on the roads and streets, creating problems for citizens.
According to details, municipal bodies opened up manholes to drain out the rainwater in an attempt to hide their incompetence. More than 200 large and small sewerage lines burst due to the pressure of rainwater.
Rainwater mixed with foul-smelling sewage has accumulated in several areas of the city, including PIDC, University Road, Liaquatabad, Nazimabad, Mehmoodabad, Model Colony, Korangi, Landhi, Old Sabzi Mandi, Green Tower, and Jaffar Tayyar Society.
The Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) has started work to repair and replace the sewerage lines, while the Board's MD has requested for a grant of Rs2 billion from the Sindh government for this purpose.
The sewerage system could not sustain the rainwater pressure due to the incompetence and absence of a strategy by the local bodies. Municipal agencies opened up the manholes to drain out the rainwater as the city administration had failed to clean the main nullahs.
The rainwater built up pressure on the sewerage lines of different diameters, including 72, 66, 48, 36, 24 inches, which burst in different areas, and the filthy slush oozed out of the sewers and onto the roads and streets in different localities.
Citizens in the Old City Area, Lines Area, Khudadad Colony, Mehmoodabad, Landhi, Korangi, New Karachi, Buffer Zone, Liaquatabad, Nazimabad, Gulbarg, Sharafabad, Malir, Muhammad Ali Society, Dhuraji Colony, Azizabad, Gulbahar, Rizvia, Gulshan Iqbal, and Malir had to bear the agony of living in streets inundated with foul-smelling slush.
The water board has started repairing and replacing the sewerage lines, but the managing director has written a letter to the Sindh government requesting for a grant of Rs2 billion for the repairs of more than 200 sewerage lines.
He has stated in the letter that during the recent monsoon rains the covers of the manholes had been opened to drain out the rainwater. This put pressure on the sewerage infrastructure as several lines got choked on garbage and burst at many places. The board needs a lot of money to repair these lines.
According to Engineer Aftab Chandio of the KWSB, the damaged sewerage lines on University Road have already been repaired. The repairs of lines passing through Liaquatabad and Nazimabad will be completed this week, while the 72-inch line in PIDC, Chief Minister's House, will be repaired in the next four days.
Instead of ensuring that the city's rainwater drains were cleaned before the start of the monsoon season, municipal authorities had opened up the manholes in different localities after the city was flooded with rainwater. This put immense pressure on the 40-45-year-old sewerage infrastructure causing it to collapse.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 30th, 2022.