It was just a few days ago that Karachi was turned from a bustling metropolis to a water-logged island of sorts with its residents, most of them office and factory workers, stranded in different parts of the city and some even spending the night at the residence of an office colleague or near relative as it was impossible to reach their own residence through the streets that had turned into small lakes.
According to the metrological office, this could happen again and actually as early as this week and according to some estimates this time around it might be even more severe so everyone has to be prepared for the worst.**
By the time you read this the worst would have been over or so I hope as this is not estimated to last for more than a few days and as the weather in Karachi goes it might not happen altogether with the concerned depression floating away to cause havoc elsewhere. This, however, is not any phenomenon that is going away forever. If anything given the present climatic changes it will keep returning and even increasing in its intensity.
It is here to stay and will keep coming back sometimes hitting the bull’s-eye and at others just producing a scare that will force some in authority to clean their act and be better prepared for the worst. It is best to clean our act or to be more precise keep the avenues for waste water flow clean and flowing so there are no blockages and water buildup turning the streets of Karachi into a little Venice.
I remember Karachi in the early days of Pakistan. It rained quite heavily in those days and in both winter and summer. Hail storms in winter were quite common and when the hail fell on the tiles that in those days formed the roofs of residential barracks it was like music to our ears. Within a short time little streams would form and water would start gathering in little pools but not for long as the water would be drained out quickly by an excellent drainage system.
Over the years this drainage system has been compromised by allowing shops and even residential buildings to be built over it. Garbage was openly and freely thrown into drainage drains and this depositing of garbage in storm drains is actually acknowledged by concerned authorities as they have yearly drainage system cleanliness campaigns which are in a way acknowledging the right of those throwing garbage in waste water drains.
Maybe a better system would be to keep the storm water drains tightly covered and even under lock and key to prevent anyone dumping any garbage in these drains and awarding suitable punishment to those who choke these drains thus turning our streets into rivers where these drainage systems are overflowing with garbage and are mostly uncovered to actually facilitate those dumping garbage in these vital conduits of the city.
Coming back to the present monsoon spell, it seems that the worst is over and the damage has not been as grave as was feared in the early days estimates of this rainy spell. This is in spite of what the authorities were fearing as the rainy spell was accompanied by a full moon and that too a red full moon, which we are told has negative effects, including pushing back water from the sea thus making it difficult for drainage systems to work effectively.
Our mayor also termed it one of the biggest challenges in depositing rain water into the sea. Other advices from the administration include asking the people only to venture out at least two and a half hours after a heavy downpour. This will allow the 46 major drain avenues to work properly and drain out the water without causing flood like situation.
Any way, you look at it heavy rains in Karachi cannot be handled by few government departments alone. This requires cooperation from all sections of society working together to face the challenges that arise from such a situation. We seem to have survived another system thrown up by climate change and now await what comes next hoping to overcome it with unity and perseverance.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
The writer is a well-known columnist