Lack of drainage threatens cities: NDMA

If the systems are not rectified or replaced soon, the cities would be easily inundated, the body says.

ISLAMABAD: Widespread devastation would be inevitable if the obsolete and outdated drainage systems of most Pakistani cities are not replaced immediately, warned the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). If the systems are not rectified or replaced soon, the cities would be easily inundated, the body said. According to a survey conducted by NDMA, the drainage systems of Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Multan, Faisalabad, Quetta, Mardan and Nowshera, among other cities, are obsolete and fail to cater the needs of the growing population. Even Islamabad, a planned city, has failed to establish a proper drainage system and just half an hour of downpour inundates most parts of the city including parliament and the presidency, the survey said.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 12^th,  2011.