“60% of the rainwater discharge cleanup has been completed”

After the Pakistan Meteorological Department warned that heavier rains would be expected in this monsoon season, the Sindh provincial government stepped up to clean up Karachi’s major and minor storm drains. However, the long-standing encroachment issue made the entire exercise quite cumbersome.

Among the 44 main drainage ditches under the administrative control of Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC), the Orangi, Gujar and Mahmudabad open channels are being cleared by the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA), which has cooperated with the Border Engineering Organization (FWO) Sign the contract.

A committee established by the provincial government for this purpose is clearing the remaining 41 drainage ditches and small nalas under the city’s seven district municipal corporations (DMC).

Zubair Channa, executive director of the Sindh Solid Waste Management Committee, KMC officials, local government secretaries and other officials are members of the committee, and he also leads the $240 million competitive and livable city Karachi project .

The provincial cabinet has approved 500 million rupees for cleaning storm drains, and 50% of the funds have been released. The third-party assessment of the liquidation work is carried out by the Pakistan National Engineering Services Agency.

In an interview with The News, Channa explained that the cleanup of the storm drain began on May 26. He said that in 22 days, 3.5 million tons of sewage were removed from different open channels in the city.

“Almost 60% of the cleanup has been completed,” he said, adding that FWO and NDMA are cleaning up Gujjar, Orangi and Mehmoodabad nalas.

According to him, they could not enter six to seven drainage ditches due to occupation. As for the drains that are under the administrative control of the DMC, he said that the committee is also clearing these drains.

He explained: “Under the supervision of the committee, the drains connected to the main rainwater drains of DMC are being cleared.”

He said that the first phase of the drainage ditch cleaning work will be completed in the first week of July. However, he added that their involvement in the clearing of the open channel will continue until the end of the monsoon season.

An official from the KMC municipal department said that the choke points in various nalas have been cleared. “The blocking point of the DMC open channel has also been cleared,” he said, adding that, however, encroachment is the main obstacle in the process of clearing the drain.

He said that various areas of Chakiwara, Dehli House, Tipu Sultan, City, Soldier Bazaar, Curli, Machhar Colony, Limo Goth and Pehlwan Goth nullahs, as well as other nalas, large and small, will choke when it rains. “These points have been cleaned up, and all these points have been installed with drainage machines.”

It is determined that Nagan Chowrangi and KDA Chowrangi in the center of the district are the most serious choke points in the city. Water gushes from the mountains and floods these places. The official said they need to build a huge box culvert in Nagan Chowrangi and clear the flow between them. The encroachment of the drainage ditch of KDA Chowrangi and Ziauddin hospitals.

According to him, SIDCL (Sindh Infrastructure Development Co., Ltd.) owned by the federal government has agreed to build the box culvert, but it will be built after the monsoon because such major construction work cannot be carried out during the season.

As for KDA Chowrangi, the official said that the hospital was partly built on a drainage ditch and the water was flowing down the mountain all the way.

He said that due to the construction of the hospital and other encroachments, water overflowed from KDA Chowrangi and adjacent areas, flooding the entire area, including houses.

KMC decided to purchase 15 more water pumps and transport them to places where a lot of rainwater accumulates. KMC administrator Laeeq Ahmed has instructed his subordinates to conduct thorough investigations of underground passages and low-lying areas and develop rainwater drainage plans.

Shazia Haris, NDMA’s media handler, refused to share the contact information of any officials in Karachi who are monitoring drainage ditch cleaning.

One of their officials shared information that until May, there were approximately 14,900 tons of garbage from Mehmoodabad Nullah, 73,500 tons from Gujjar Nullah and 153,031 tons from Orangi Nullah.

Deputy Commissioner Korangi has instructed his subordinates to clean the sewage pipes in Chakra Goth before the monsoon rains begin. DC also ordered the cleaning of all drains in his area.

Eastern District Municipal Commissioner Shoaib Ahmed visited various areas in his area on Sunday to monitor the clearing of storm drains. During a visit to Limo Goth, he instructed officials to remove debris from the open channel that passed through the area.