Karachiites are now at the mercy of expected torrential rains, as the civic administration, despite warnings of rainstorm from metrological department due to the tropical cyclone "Nilofar", is unable to implement the rain contingency plan with defective machinery.
The civic administration like the past has started blame game to shift the responsibilities of its incompetence to the Sindh government by giving a rationale that Sindh government is reluctant to release Rs 140 million for repair and maintenance of its machinery. Well-informed sources told this correspondent the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) and its district administrations were set to undergo a crucial test whether they are able to respond to the rainy spell or not as 40 percent of the key machineries of KMC are defective to use.
Although Administrator Karachi Rauf Akhter Farooqui has directed KMC to set up rain emergency centres in order to take preventive measures ahead of expected tropical cyclone (Nilofar) but the sources said civic body is running short of financial resources to materialise its emergency plans Engineering Department of KMC has also directed the concerned chief engineers of districts to monitor the measures being taken to deal with the expected tropical cyclone and also to established rain emergency centres in their respective areas.
According to KMC, rain emergency centres have been established in District Central, District South, District Malir, District East and District West whereas a central rain emergency centre has also been set-up on the ground floor of Civic Centre. These centres will work round the clock.
"The plan, like every year in the past, would prove to be a failure and as it is just a bureaucratic rhetoric that never help to lessen the sufferings of the citizens during rain," a source said. He said the major reason behind the situation is small 'nullahs' and sewerage lines, passing through different localities, which have not been properly cleaned so far. On the other hand, Fishermen Co-operative Society has also established an emergency centre at Karachi Fish Harbor amid the expected tropical cyclone - Nilofar. The society has restricted the fishermen from going into deep sea for fishing.