City authorities face another test as rains expected this week

Karachi

As parts of the city received light rainfall on Sunday and the weather office having issued warnings of a new spell of torrential rains over the course of this week, city authorities seemed to be gearing up for relief efforts with a high alert having been sounded at all rain emergency centres located within the limits of District Municipal Corporation (DMC) Karachi, South.

An official said the measure had been taken to ensure proper drainage efforts, as well as to meet any eventualities and ensuring timely redressal of public complaints. He asserted that all required machinery, operators, officers and field staff would be available at the rain emergency centres round-the-clock, a claim that sounds stretched given the previous rain spells and their aftermath. However, the official shared phone numbers – 99211390 and 99211429 – on which the public could register complaints throughout the day.

Following the monsoon showers of last week and the plethora of problems they brought for the city, the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) had also issued a set of precautionary measures it feels could help citizens better prepare for the rainy season.

In directives issued a week ago, KMC chief Laeeq Ahmed called for all departments to be on high alert over the coming weeks as the monsoon season continues and could bring about further civic challenges for authorities to tackle. With incidents of electrocution and billboards falling having been reported throughout the past week of rains in Karachi, the civic authority has urged all citizens to make a conscious effort to stay away from electricity poles and be on the lookout for fallen wires or exposed connections.

The same was also advised with regards to billboards and other large hoardings as citizens were told to be wary of their surroundings and try to avoid standing near such installations during rains, particularly if they are accompanied by strong winds as is often the case in the coastal metropolis. 

In case of emergencies, complaints can be lodged at '1339', while the disaster management and fire brigade departments can be reached at 16, and parks’ department can be contacted on, 99204300, if people encounter fallen trees post-rain.

The precautions and emergency imposition, hopefully, would improve the city’s post-rain management efforts as at least seven lives were lost in rain-related incidents during the first spell of monsoon rains at the end of June. Moreover, citizens who confined to their homes had to brave major power breakdowns all throughout the three-day spell as those on the roads tried their best to navigate through murky pools of rainwater mixed with sewage.

Though predicted and 'prepared for' on paper, the start of this monsoon season has once again exposed the abject planning measures and lack of coordination among municipal agencies and other governmental departments responsible for what remain the very basic of civic amenities.

Given such shambolic planning and control measures, the steady stream of reports of unfortunate deaths and injuries hardly comes as a surprise. Among the dead were Mohammad Shafiq who died of electric shock at the Baba Fareed welding shop in the jurisdiction of the Sharifabad police. 

Rescue organisations also brought in the bodies of 22-year-old Abdul Mannan and 20-year-old Faizan who had been electrocuted near Siddiq Akbar mosque near Anda Morr.

Electrocution was also cited as the cause of death for an unidentified elderly man in Phool Wali Gali in Lyari, along with 40-year-old Abdul Rasheed who died in Azizabad.

Two unfortunate minors have also lost their lives in the past two days. Twelve-year-old Muhammad Mustakeem Ahmed was electrocuted while playing near his residence situated in North Karachi’s Sector 5 A-1, while a three-year-old Shama died when a portion of an under-construction wall dropped at her near her residence situated near Madina Masjid in Orangi Town No 4.

Heavy downpour on both days caused several businesses to shut down, with the furniture markets in Gulistan-e-Jauhar and paper markets in Urdu Bazaar closed down after the deluge.