Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah on Saturday lashed out at the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) and other government departments after several areas in Karachi continued to resemble lakes after two days of torrential downpour.
The chief minister, while presiding over a meeting to review the overall post-rainfall situation in Sindh at CM House, said roads via which the Muharram procession will pass should be cleared post haste. Directing the authorities concerned to drain the water in areas still flooded in the metropolis, the chief minister questioned why several areas in the southern district were still submerged in water.
Turning to KMC, the chief minister asked why KMC’s Urban Disaster Response Unit was not at the forefront in cleaning up the city after the heavy downpour. “KMC’s Urban Disaster Response Unit does not appear to be active. Those involved in the cleanup should be made to wear specific jackets so that the public knows that the government is working,” he said.
He also directed the concerned departments to pinpoint areas where the flow of water could be stopped. “If any building is obstructing the flow of water, bulldoze it whether it is public or private. We have to fix the city no matter how drastic the measures we have to take,” Shah noted.
The chief minister directed senior Board of Revenue members to survey all the districts and to take note of them. He also directed all the district commissioners to ensure their areas were cleaned, especially drains which get choked due to garbage.
“Drains get cleaned because of the flow of water but plastic bags and mud chokes it,” he noted.
Speaking about the power woes of the city, Shah said that power was yet to be restored in several areas in the city. “170 KE feeders out of 1,900 are yet to be restored,” he added. Briefing the meeting, the deputy commissioner said there was an issue of garbage collection in the Central district. “We cleaned all the areas in the Central district. All the drains in Southern district were cleaned as well,” he added.
He added that low-lying areas were still flooded as all the nullahs were emptied in the Southern district, which takes time to drain.
To this, the chief minister said he was aware there was not enough staff, which is why temporary staff should be hired to move the cleaning process along.
Commissioner Mirpur Khas told the chief minister that more than 80% of the crops had been destroyed in Mirpur Khas and Tharparkar due to the recent rains, while water was yet to be drained from Mithi, Islamkot and other areas.
