‘Sukkur city has turned into a dirty version of Venice’

As people fear epidemic, administration still sluggish in draining away the water.

SUKKUR:

A putrid, nauseating smell permeated the air on Saturday in Sukkur city, especially at Bakhar Chowk, Shalimar, Jail Road and Numaish Chowk, as sewage festered in the stagnant rainwater. The clouds have vanished from the sky, and the sun cooks everything below.

In these conditions, the city’s residents wait impatiently for some respite, agitated that they cannot move about freely because of the dirty water. Though efforts to drain water are underway in areas, such as Royal Road and Jeay Shah Chowk, they have been sluggish at best. Many other parts of the city are still submerged.

“It is the first time in my life that I have seen people using boats to go from one locality to another. The power has been out for three days now - it’s a nightmare,” said Kamran, a 28-year-old man who lives in a house on Royal Road. “Our neighbourhood has turned into Venice, but the water is quite dirty,” he quipped, laughing at his own misery.

A young woman living near Latif Park had a similar tale to tell. “I have never seen so much water accumulate in this area in my entire life,” she told The Express Tribune. “The ground floor of our house is completely submerged and all our furniture has been ruined.” She said that the rainwater had also rushed into her father’s grocery store at Tonga Stand and swallowed almost all of its contents, causing a huge loss. “We are afraid that the stagnant rainwater might cause an epidemic,” she added.

Husna, a frail, elderly woman, sat at her doorstep, waiting for her daughter to return from work with something to eat. She was famished as she had not eaten over the past three days. “Sometimes I feel that we are not human beings because we don’t have any rights in this country,” she said bitterly. “Poor people take birth in terrible conditions, lead wretched lives and die miserable deaths.”  Majid Ali Shah, who runs a flour mill at Royal Road, said that the area had been under four feet of water for the last five days. “The water was everywhere,” he told The Express Tribune. “My mill and house are under water. I’ve suffered a huge loss,” he said, pointing angrily towards a pile of soggy grain discarded on the road. “I have thrown it out on the road for the cows and buffaloes to eat. The administration has failed. If they had made sincere efforts from the very first day, the water would have been pumped out long ago.”

Ghulam Ali, who sells pakoras at Numaish Chowk, said, “About four feet of water has accumulated in my neighbourhood and we find it difficult to go on with our daily activities. Four people, including a girl, were electrocuted in our locality.”  “My wife works in two houses and brings some leftover food. We cannot cook anything because water is still standing in my house,” said Ali. “Labourers who earn on daily basis have been affected the most by the rains. They can’t eat when they don’t earn.”

Published in The Express Tribune, September 16^th, 2012.