KARACHI: Ruthless monsoon rain spells wreaked havoc with already fragile civic infrastructure of Karachi, marring Eid celebrations.
Roads turned into water pools, Nullahs overflowed, many neighbourhoods were inundated with waist-high water, as megacity’s normal life, trade and commercial activities came to a grinding halt after rains that continued till Tuesday morning.
Over 500 power feeders of K-Electric were affected as various neighbourhoods remained out of electricity for many hours.
Citizens suffered a lot due to the foul smell from uncollected offal of sacrificial animals on Tuesday as municipal authorities failed to collect and shift them to designated dumping points.
Separately, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has warned that heavy falls may generate flash/ urban flooding in local mullahs of Sindh including Karachi, Dadu, Thatta, Badin besides parts of Balochistan and Punjab from July 14 to July 17.
The Monday rains exposed the tall claims of civic agencies and utilities providers regarding the rain mitigation plans. Korangi Causeway went inundated, while some Nullahs in Orangi Town and Korangi overflowed and rainwater entered houses.
A track of M-9 Karachi-Hyderabad motorway was closed due to flooding. Food and Oil transportation to upcountry also remained suspended for two days.
Prominent areas and buildings including Tower, Memon Masjid, Wazir Mansion, Cantonment Railway Station, KMC Building, Kharadar, and their connecting streets went submerged in accumulated rainwater.
However, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah directed local government department to install small pumps to drain out rainwater from the streets and simultaneously start patch work of the damaged roads and restore Korangi Causeway.
Posh areas like DHA, Clifton also turned into water pools. Pakistan Army and Sindh paramilitary Rangers had to step in to conduct rescue and relief activities in some parts of the city.
Three people lost their lives due to electrocution in Garden Shoe Market and Korangi’s Bilal Colony areas. Rainwater went accumulated on the main streets of the DHA, Clifton, Malir, Airport Road, I.I Chundrigar Road, Saddar, Old City Area, Gulistan-e-Jauhar, Federal B Area, North Nazimabad, Korangi, and PECHS.
Many citizens could not slaughter their sacrificial animals on the 2nd day of Eid as butchers were not available due to rains.
Commuters remained stranded for hours on roads. Accumulated rainwater made its way into markets and homes in some parts of the city including Saddar area.
However, Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KW&SB) said that level of Hub Dam has increased by 15.8 feet after the recent monsoon rains. Water level in the dam has risen to 337.8 feet.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, taking notice of the torrential rains in the megacity, offered the Sindh government every possible support. He took to twitter and said: “Just spoke to CM Syed Murad Ali Shah. Deeply saddened by the tragic losses due to torrential rains in Karachi. I am confident that Sindh govt will rise to the occasion & bring life back to normal under the able leadership of CM Sindh. Have offered to extend every possible support.”
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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