Court orders: SHC wants to know if drains have been cleared

The petitioner had sought removal of encroachments and cleaning of drains for the monsoon season

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) has directed the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation's (KMC) administrator to submit a compliance report on the court's previous directives for the removal of illegal encroachments over storm water drains.

Headed by Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, the bench sought the report about compliance of its directives issued on August 23, 2013, when the KMC authorities were ordered to clear all the drains from encroachments.

The petition was filed by a civil rights campaigner, Rana Faizul Hasan, who had sought removal of encroachments and cleaning of drains for the monsoon season. He claimed that several drains, rivers and sewer lines were either encroached upon or closed down, but the KMC authorities did not bother to remove the encroachments.

Owning to these encroachments and choking of drains, rainwater paralysed life in the city and damaged its infrastructure every year, he said. The judges directed the KMC authorities to submit the compliance reports by May 4.