According to the Meteorological Department, heavy rains are predicted in Karachi this year as well. The damage caused by last year's heavy rains has not yet been recovered, as more rains are predicted for the second year in a row than last year. And who could forget the rains of 2020 which caused a great damage in Karachi. Karachiites, once again, are left to wonder who will help us? Who will save us? Have we not learned our lesson from the devastation of last year's heavy rainfall? The broken roads are reminiscent of the calamity.
Last year, Naya Nazimabad remained in the news as the region was greatly vandalized as it was submerged in the rain water entirely. The Pakistan Army had to rescue the residents of the area in boats. According to the administration, the situation was only in one particular area and the rest of the society was not so serious. However, this year, big steps have been thought upon to prevent rain in New Nazimabad. According to the administration of Naya Nazimabad, "the best preventive measures this year are taken." Usually, Naya Nazimabad receives a maximum of 12 to 15 million gallons of water as the past records showed, but last year it broke all the past records as it received 40 million gallons.
Not only this but additional 40 million gallons of additional water from the nearby PSM also entered the low-lying areas of Naya Nazimabad. Similarly, another huge influx of 45 million gallons of water from the western boundary from Haji Fazal Town caused New Nazimabad to submerge, thus the total challenge for the region was to extract 126 million gallons of water
According to the Naya Nazimabad administration, it was enough to drain all the water coming from the rain gutter on PSM Road through the red gate. However, it was impossible to drain such a large reservoir of water through the drain system due to insufficient drainage capacity. This is significantly why a great amount of water stood in the area. It is estimated that only 20% of Naya Nazimabad was affected by rainfall but due to negative propaganda in the media, the news gave the impression as if the whole new Nazimabad had sunk.
Giving further details on the situation, the administration said that about 80 families were affected owing to the catastrophic rainfall last year. Considering its responsibility, Naya Nazimabad's administration provided alternative accommodation and took care of all their needs including food and drink till the end of the day.
In addition, an emergency operation was launched to rehabilitate the affected families. Through this operation a large number of labourers were hired for draining the rain water and washing of their houses. To deal with the similar situation in the future Naya Nazimabad has taken necessary steps that include the construction of a two and a half kilometre long and 10 feet high dam by the PSM to stop the flow of water. This way 204 million gallons of water, spread over an area of 151 acres will be prevented from entering residential areas. Besides this, an 8.5-acre dam has been constructed along the PSM boundary which has the capacity to store 20 million gallons of water coming from blocks C and D.
The water collected in this will be put to proper use, and a 4 feet wide and 5.5 feet deep ditch has been constructed along the boundary wall towards Haji Fazal Town. The ditch connecting the water entering the boundary to the 48-inch pipeline beyond Afridi Goth will be connected to Ajmer Nagri Nala on 4000 road near Manghopir Road. With all the above-mentioned preventive measures taken, Naya Nazimabad will be ready to cope with two to three times more water flow than last year. I am happy to know that there is an organization in Karachi that is dedicated to the welfare and service of the people.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
Comments
Comments are closed.