ISLAMABAD: National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has warned widespread devastations in country's big cities, if obsolete and outdated drainage system is not replaced or improved immediately.
Demanding immediate replacement of drainage system, NDMA expressed the fear that if the system is not rectified or replaced, the big cities of the country could be inundated with a mediocre level of rain, spokesman of NDMA.
Talking to APP here, he said immediate measures are imperative to cope with likely flooding by overcoming the problem of overflowing of gutters and developing effective drainage system as the present system is failed to cope with the demands of ever growing population.
According to the survey conducted by NDMA, the drainage system of Rawalpindi, Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Multan, Faisalabad, Quetta, Mardan and Nowshera and other cities has become outdated and obsolete and fail to cater the needs of the growing population.
Heaps of garbage, accumulated water, and overflowing gutters could be seen in almost all cities due to ill planning and absence of a proper drainage system.
According to the survey, the architects of so called modern and planned city Islamabad miserably failed to establish a proper drainage system in the city. Just half an hour of rain inundates most parts of the city including parliament house, presidency and recently build Interchanges and underpasses.
Water accumulates in recently constructed flyovers and bridges due to flawed drainage system of the city, he said.
Criticising citizens the survey noted that citizens have failed to take measures to install a proper drainage system to fulfill their needs while building new homes.
According to survey, water drainage system of Lahore has also become obsolete with just half an hour of rains half of the city areas inundates.
In Rawalpindi's Nullah Leh, when water level crosses a certain point, the Leh water reverses to branch nullahs and tributaries thus causing flooding in the low lying areas of the city.
Same is the position in Peshawar and Lahore, where a small amount of rain inundates the city areas and choke the entire drainage system and gutters. The drainage system of Hyderabad and Sukkur has also become obsolete that could cause flooding in the city.
"Let every department join hands to rectify the faulty drainage system as it is our country and this is our responsibility to make it beautiful, neat and clean," the spokesman said.
Copyright APP (Associated Press of Pakistan), 2011
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