Sindh govt, army to clear storm drains, remove encroachments

KARACHI: The Sindh government, Corps Headquarters, NDMA have taken critical decision of removing encroachments from the major Nullahs posing nuisance during annual rains and tasked the FWO to remove sludge from the three main storm drains.

The decisions were taken at a high-level meeting here on Friday under the chairmanship of Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah. It was attended by Minister Local Government Syed Nasir Shah, Adviser Law Wahab, Corps Commander Karachi Lt. General Humayun Aziz, Chairman NDMA Lt. Gen. Mohammad Afzal, Chief Secretary Mumtaz Ali Shah, Karachi Commissioner Iftikhar Shahlwani and other relevant officers.

The meeting decided to remove encroachments from the drains restoring natural water disposal by the Local Government with the active help of Pak Army and Rangers. The meeting also decided to hand over cleaning of three storm drains to FWO including Gujjar Nallah in district Central and CBM Nallah in district Korangi and address the drainage issues of the Green Line project. The FWO would also clear both sides of Sharae Faisal along with adjacent choke points such as FTC, Nursery, Gulshan-e-Zafar, Tipu Sultan Road, Karsaz, Drigh Road, Star Gate. The sludge will be taken out from the drains and discarded at the dumping sites of Jam Chakro and TP-1.

The meeting was told that the KMC has 38 nullahs under its jurisdiction and they all were being cleared under the World Bank project, SWEEP. Apart from KMC, the DMCs have 514 smaller nullahs and they (DMCs) were responsible for cleaning them for which the Sindh government provides them with additional funds.There are some nullahs at the cantonments and KWSB as well.

Briefing the meeting over the innundation of parts of city due to choked drains, the chief minister said 63 to 86mm downpour struck in less than an hour during July overwhelming the sewerage system and storm drains. The existing infrastructure can only sustain 25 to 30 m in 30 minutes rain, which caused massive spillage and inundation of localities across the city. He said the urban flooding also struck in the vicinity of Gujjar Nallah at Liaquatabad, Shershah Suri Road and Kashmir Colony at the tail-end of Orangi Nallah.

Encroachments at Gulshan-i-Zafar, adjacent to PECHS and Sharea Faisal choked the major artery at Roomi Mosque on July 17, following 63mm rainfall. The Zaman Town in Korangi was similarly flooded with two feet water due to encroachments. The Police Lines at Soldier Bazaar Nullah suffered similar misery as the drain was deliberately choked by putting heavy stones.

On July 26, after more than 86mm rain in an hour Gulistan-e-Jauhar was inundated as a private educational institution has encroached upon the Nullah preventing it from being desilted. The Local Government Minister, Syed Nasir Shah, told the meeting that the underconstruction Green Line project has blocked the old drainage system preventing water flow into the Gujjar Nalluh causing water overflow and accumulation of water at KDA, Sakhi Hassan and Nagan Chowrangi on July 27, following 74mm rainfall in an hour. The system was already overwhelmed by flash water from hill torrents that flooded Kashmir Muhalla in Orangi Town.

Talking about the World Bank’s intervention for improvement of solid waste collection and disposal system, Murad Ali Shah said under the World Bank project, the Nullah Cleaning has been undertaken. The Sindh government has invested an amount equal to US$ 8 million from its own resources. The Sindh government has already released Rs200 million for the purpose, he pointed out.

The corps commander, Karachi, and Chairman NDMA assured the chief minister that they would support the Sindh government in rectifying design defects of the Nullahs and the Green Line project’s infrastructure. They also assured their support in removal of encroachments along the Nullahs and storm drains. The chief minister thanked the corps commander, Karachi, and NDMA for their support.