LG secretary declares rain emergency in Karachi

While chairing a meeting regarding cleaning of rain drains, Sindh Local Government Secretary Roshan Ali Shaikh on Thursday declared a rain emergency in all the districts of Karachi.

The meeting was attended by Local Government Additional Secretary Chiraguddin Hingoro, Senior Director Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) Masood Alam, Project Director CLICK Zubair Channa, municipal commissioners, representatives of all district municipal corporations (DMCs), officials of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) and the Sindh Solid Waste Management Board (SSWMB) and others.

According to a press statement issued by the Sindh’s local government department, addressing the participants of meeting the Shaikh said that the task of nullahs cleaning had to be executed in the most smooth and smart way that all the concerned people and institutions should be on one page without any conflict.

Shaikh said that the PD CLICK would lead the project of nallahs cleaning accompanied by the focal person of the KMC. “A vigilance committee will be made on every district level, consisting of the representatives from the KMC, DMC, KWSB, SSWMB and district administration officials. The vigilance committee will monitor, identify and report the choking points and drainage situation to the central monitoring room which will be established in the local government’s office. All the technical staff and engineering teams of all the DMC and KMC have been directed to visit the nullahs and see their conditions in their jurisdiction as strict action would be taken against the officials who would fail to do so,” he said.

Shaikh said that in the areas of cantonments, a Clifton Board Cantonment (CBC) official would be in the vigilance committee and for the complaints regarding the rain drain cleaning 1339 would be the round-the-clock help line number.

“We all will be extensively working together in order to save people from any uncertain or critical situation. The vigilance committee and the dedicated team of engineers will find and report the reasons of last year rains damages, causes and technical details. All the reports will be reviewed on July 1 and it will provide us direction for our further actions,” he added.

CM seeks plan

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has directed the local government department to work out a thorough plan for de-silting, cleaning and repair of nullahs and stormwater drains so the funds could be released in time.

“All deputy commissioners, local bodies and water utilities should be taken on board while envisaging a rain emergency plan so action could be taken in this regard,” Murad said while presiding over a rain emergency meeting at the CM House on Wednesday.

The meeting was attended by local government minister Nasir Shah, chief secretary Mumtaz Shah, principal secretary to CM Sajid Jamal Abro, Karachi Commissioner Iftikhar Shahalwani, local government secretary Roshan Shaikh, finance secretary Hassan Naqvi, water board chief Asadullah Khan and other officials. The divisional commissioners, the local bodies’ representatives and mayors joined the meeting video video-link.

Karachi Mayor Wasim Akhtar told the chief minister on the occasion that he was facing a financial shortfall to carry out de-silting of nullahs. To this, the chief minister advised the mayor to enhance the financial resources of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation, adding that the Sindh government would cover up the shortfall and finance de-silting of nullahs.

The chief minister directed the local government secretary to send him financial requirements for the purpose through the finance secretary. “You have to move a summary today so that timely action can be taken,” he said.

Shah said an $11 million World Bank project was in pipeline which would probably start within the next four months under which almost all major nullahs of Karachi would be revamped.

“We would construct fences around the nullahs so that no encroachment could take place,” he said and added that almost all newly-constructed major roads of the city had stormwater drains along with them. He said if these nullahs were cleaned and de-silted, rainwater would not accumulate on roads.

It was pointed out in the meeting that some civil works of different nullahs in Karachi, Hyderabad and Sukkur were required to be done. The LG secretary told the CM said that after taking all concerned deputy commissioners on board, he had sent a summary of Rs229 million to the chief minister.

The CM directed the mayor and the Karachi commissioner to work out a plan to avoid a Saadi Town-like situation of the recent past. He directed the Karachi mayor to expedite the ongoing work on the Mehran nullah so it may not overflow again and create havoc in Saadi Town.

Shah also directed the Karachi commissioner to coordinate with the K-Electric authorities to ensure uninterrupted power supply to the pumping stations of the Karachi Water & Sewerage Board during the monsoon.

The meeting decided that all deputy commissioners would apprise PDMA of their requirement for suction machines, generators, pipes and other equipment and so they could be arranged. It was also decided that hoardings, unnecessary cables and such other display boards would be removed from the city before the commencement of the monsoon

Hyderabad

The Hyderabad commissioner told the CM that Rs70 million were required for the rain emergency plan related to the Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) and the Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (Hesco). Under the planned works, seven nullahs would be de-silted, cleaned and repaired in the city.

The CM said he would release funds in the first week of July, however, he directed the commissioner to start the work on the project.

The CM said the work on all seven nullahs must be started at once. He said Hesco had to be prepared to ensure uninterrupted power supply to the pumping machines of Wasa so rainwater could be quickly disposed of. He directed the Hyderabad commissioner to ensure repair and maintenance of the generators and pumping machines available with deputy commissioner and others department so they could be used in case of emergency.

It was pointed out that Wasa had some issues of payment of power bills and needed extra staff. To this, the chief minister directed the LG minister to visit Hyderabad and address all their outstanding issues.

Shaheed Benazirabad

The CM was told that low-lying areas had been identified where mostly rainwater accumulated in Shaheed Benazirabad. He was told that de-silting of nullahs and natural drains had been started and almost 70 per cent work had been done. To this, the chief minister directed the Shaheed Benazirabad administration to speed up the work, saying the monsoon season was approaching fast. It was pointed out that a good stock of de-watering pumps was available with the district administration of the Shaheed Benazirabad division.

Mirpurkhas

The CM directed the Mirpurkhas commissioner to focus on the cleaning of the municipal and town committees nullahs and the sewerage system. He directed the irrigation department to clear areas around the LBOD to ensure a flow of rainwater.