Three minors among five killed as rain batters city

By our correspondents
July 07, 2022

Five people, including three minors, were killed on Wednesday as Karachi received more showers under the influence of an active monsoon system that has been causing heavy rains across Pakistan.

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The Sir Syed police said that a wall of a house in North Karachi collapsed and trapped the residents underneath. Rescue workers found a dead minor boy as well as a woman and a minor girl in an injured condition. They were taken to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital (ASH). The deceased boy was identified as three-year-old Ali Mehdi, while his injured mother and sister as Razia and Sumaira.

Similarly, a teenage boy died after the roof of his house collapsed on top of him in Malir’s Khokhrapar area. His body was taken to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC). He was identified as 14-year-old Aman.

Three other people were killed due to electrocution. The Quaidabad police said that three-year-old Bilquis Afridi died after being electrocuted by an electric pole near her home in the Dawood mill gate area of Landhi. Her body was taken to the JPMC.

The Pirabad police said that 18-year-old Abdullah, son of Habib Gul, was electrocuted at his house in Qasba Colony. His body was taken to ASH. The Mehmoodabad police said 35-year-old Imran Shaukat was electrocuted at his house in Azam Basti. His body was taken to the JPMC, from where his family took it away without completing any medico-legal formalities.

Flooded roads

The early morning rain affected the road infrastructure of the city’s Central and East districts the most. Rainwater could not be drained out from many roads and streets in the two districts until evening.

Severe traffic jams were witnessed in the Nazimabad, North Karachi, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Gulistan-e-Jauhar, Shershah, Orangi Town and Surjani Town areas, where many four-wheelers and motorbikes broke down in the middle of large pools of rainwater.

People faced inconvenience during commuting in the areas of North Karachi, Nazimabad, North Karachi, Gulistan-e-Jauhar, Saadi Town, Surjani Town, Orangi Town, and different roads in the Central, West and East districts.

The road leading towards Shahrah-e-Pakistan from Sohrab Goth was completely submerged, and so was the Hussainabad area. The Power House Chowrangi area in North Karachi was also completely underwater until the afternoon, causing a traffic jam for hours. A traffic jam was also reported in the Sharifabad area. At around 2:30pm the traffic movement was observed to be slow in Liaquatabad because rainwater could not be drained out of the underpass. Large potholes developed between the Shafiq Morr and Godhra areas, severely affecting the movement of traffic.

Rainwater also gathered at various points of University Road and in Gulistan-e-Jauhar. Nipa and Samama were the worst affected areas of District East. Various points of Abul Hassan Ispahani Road were also inundated with rainwater.

Meanwhile, Central District Municipal Corporation Deputy Commissioner and Administrator Taha Saleem deployed machinery for the drainage of rainwater from all the low-lying points in the district. He visited different areas to monitor the work and made sure that the district was rid of rainwater by the afternoon.

KWSB’s measures

The Karachi Water & Sewerage Board (KWSB) has installed 42 suction pumps, 42 jetting machines and two dewatering pumps in different areas of the city, according to Workshop Executive Engineer Syed Mazhar Hussain of the utility.

KWSB Technical Services Deputy Managing Director Muhammad Ayoob Shaikh said that all the machineries, including the dewatering pumps, suction pumps, jetting machines, rodding machines and sewer cleaners, have been transported to all the major thoroughfares.

According to a press statement issued by the KWSB, the board’s managing director has ordered that all storm water drain cleaning measures be undertaken on an emergency basis so that the people do not face any problem. He also cancelled the leave of all the officers and employees of the utility.

The statement said the KWSB is fully activated during rains on the instructions of Sindh Local Government Minister and KWSB Chairman Syed Nasir Hussain Shah, and LG Secretary and KWSB Vice Chairman Syed Najmi Alam. The statement also said the KWSB staff is engaged in the drainage of rainwater in different areas.

More showers

Zubair Ahmed Siddiqui, director for Karachi’s meteorological centre, told The News that several areas of the city received light to moderate showers in the morning and around noon under the influence of an active monsoon system, which is expected to cause intermittent showers until Thursday (today) evening or night.

Quoting a weather advisory issued by the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), Siddiqui said monsoon currents from the Arabian Sea are continuously penetrating Sindh, and under their influence intermittent moderate thunderstorms with isolated heavy falls are expected at some places, including in Karachi, until Friday. He said rain might cause waterlogging in low-lying areas of Karachi, where the weather is likely to remain cloudy with chances of intermittent rain on Thursday, while drizzle or light rain is also possible on Friday.

According to the PMD, the highest amount of rain was recorded in Surjani Town (25mm), followed by Nazimabad (17mm), Gulshan-e-Maymar (16.7mm), the Masroor airbase (16mm), North Karachi (15.7mm), the Met Complex on University Road (13mm), Orangi Town and Saadi Town (12.5mm each), near the Baqai University in Gadap Town (10.8mm), the old airport area (8.7mm), the Jinnah Terminal (8.4mm), Keamari (4.5mm) and Gulshan-e-Hadeed (4mm).

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