The department concerned of the City District Government Karachi (CDGK) actively cleared obstacles and drained out the accumulated rainwater at certain points after heavy downpour in the city on Saturday.
However, efforts were still being made till the filing of the report to drain out water in the surrounding areas of the Karachi Airport particularly Chhota Gate and Natha Khan Goth Bridge. It was learnt that the CDGK was facing problems in transporting the machinery to these points due to traffic jam.
According to sources, due to the construction of buildings like apartments and petrol pumps over the natural storm water drains, the drainage of storm water has become a major issue in the vicinity of the airport.
When contacted, the Executive District Officer (EDO) Municipal Services, Masood Alam said that the intensity of downpour was so much that it rained around 60 mm in half an hour. “Rainwater accumulated at Merewether Tower, Tipu Sultan Road, at Aladin Park Road and the Manzoor Colony’s drain overflowed. However, these points were immediately cleared with the deployment of manpower and machinery. A workforce belonging to the machinery pool, which works under the Municipal Services Department and community wardens, participated in the rescue operation,” he informed.
Alam further said that water accumulation was not a problem as the natural storm water drains were already cleaned and de-silted by the authorities concerned. “Natural drains like Kalri, Pitcher, Gujjar City Raily and Korangi 8,000 worked properly during the rainfall,” he added.
It is pertinent to mention here that the CDGK had already pointed out a few points where rainwater could stand before the start of monsoon season. These sites included Tipu Sultan Road, Nursery, Natha Khan Goth Bridge, Aladin Park, KDA Roundabout, North Nazimabad, Hussainabad and old city areas like Merewether Tower.
According to sources, drainage of rainwater at Nagan Chowrangi has been a serious problem due to blockage of the drain by wooden crates. Apparently the fruit sellers created a makeshift stand park their pushcarts by dropping wooden crates in drains. This is one of the reasons that why rainwater accumulates at this particular point massively every rainfall.
It was learnt that as the drainage of storm-water properly has never been the priority of different civic agencies and no coordination was made in this context. With each agency having its own set of priorities, the natural drains were encroached upon and as a result got blocked in the long run.
