President calls for comprehensive plan to prevent urban flooding in Karachi

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari has called for devising a comprehensive plan on a priority basis to prevent urban flooding in Karachi.

Chairing a meeting at Aiwan-e-Sadr on Monday on saving Karachi from urban flooding and environmental degradation and promoting sustainable water resource development, he said the Government of Sindh should adopt a sustainable and long-term strategy, based on international best practices, for effectively managing sewage and storm water to save the metropolitan city from urban flooding.

The meeting was attended by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, Adjutant General Lt-General Muhammad Asim Malik, Sindh Minister for Local Government Saeed Ghani, Karachi Mayor Barrister Murtaza Wahab, Sindh Chief Secretary Syed Asif Hyder Shah, CEO Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation Syed Salahuddin Ahmed, Country Head Herrenknecht Pakistan Col (retd) Danyal Naveed Ahmed, senior government officials, and local and international water management experts.

The president was given a comprehensive presentation by international water and sewage management experts and proposed various solutions to address the challenges of urban flooding and sewage in Karachi on the pattern of the tunnel sewer systems of Washington DC, the London Super Sewer Project, and the Deep Tunnel Sewerage System of Singapore.

During the briefing, it was proposed that a network of small and large sewer tunnels under existing roads in high-flood zones of Karachi may be developed. It was highlighted that underground tunnels using modern techniques would not disturb the public, city traffic and land ownership.

The experts said that Karachi generated almost 450 million gallons per day (MGD) of sewage. They added that sewage and storm water were collected in small and large open drains which fell into the Lyari and Malir rivers and were released untreated into the sea, polluting the marine ecosystem.

The meeting was informed that the existing network of drains had limited capacity and absorbed around 50 per cent of the rainwater under normal circumstances. The meeting was further told that excess water was not absorbed by the system, causing urban flooding.

Speaking on the occasion, President Zardari underlined the need for completing the feasibility study to control flooding in Karachi through tunnel options within three months. He stated that Karachi and its coastal areas needed to be made clean and brought at par with other metropolitan cities of the world.

He said that since the proposed project would have significant environmental impacts, the Government of Sindh should approach international donors to seek environmental financing for the project.

He said that the construction of the wastewater treatment system would also help supply treated water to Balochistan for agriculture, besides promoting the fisheries sector. The president remarked that the city of Hyderabad was also facing urban flooding and sewage issues that also needed to be addressed on a priority basis.