Karachi rains: Bath Island neighbourhood still standing in water

KWSB, TMA shrug off responsibility as stagnant water puts lives on hold in Clifton, Defence.

KARACHI: For Karachi the rains may have come and gone, but the water is still standing in many neighbourhoods, including Gulshan-e-Faisal in Bath Island.

Officials of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) and Saddar’s Town Municipal Administration (TMA) ignored complaints from the locality that falls right behind Teen Talwar.

The stagnant water is now rapidly becoming a breeding ground for mosquitoes, leading to panic among residents, who fear the spread of malaria and dengue. Not only has the sanitation of the neighbourhood suffered, but residents also have to deal with damage to their vehicles, which have been parked in standing water for days. Even the neighbourhood mosque has had to shut down because it’s surrounded by water.

A resident told The Express Tribune that street Nos. 5, 6, 7 and 8 of Gulshan-e-Faisal have been especially affected by the rainwater. He added that residents had approached KWSB Chief Engineer for Clifton Ghulam Qadir with a request to solve the problem, but he dismissed the complaints and shrugged off responsibility.

Residents received a similar response from TMA Saddar, until reporters contacted the administrative body which then changed its stance.

Taking responsibility

TMA Saddar administrator Mansoor Memon told The Express Tribune that it was the responsibility of the water board, but then he quickly added that his own administration would take action if needed in the area.

For his part, KWSB Chief Engineer Ghulam Qadir explained that the water board was not in a position to look after the entire city’s sewerage lines and manholes (close to 33,000) because it simply didn’t have the money. He denied that he had been involved in a quarrel with residents from Gulshan-e-Faisal. Qadir added that the KWSB has already installed suction pumps beneath Irani Bridge in the area, but the rains caused a backlog of water. This had worsened because residents had thrown household garbage and polythene bags into the storm water drains, which were choked.

In reply to a question, Qadir said that it would take a week to completely remove the stagnant water.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 27^th,  2011.