Karachi commissioner chairs rain emergency meeting

Karachi Commissioner Iftikhar Shallwani on Thursday directed civic agencies to gear them for the upcoming rains.

A meeting in this regard was held at the commissioner office which was chaired by Shallwani. He reviewed the arrangements being made by the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC), the District Municipal Corporations (DMCs), the Cantonment Board, the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), the Sindh Solid Waste Management Board (SSWMB) and other relevant departments to deal with any untoward situation during the expected monsoon rains in the city.

He asked the agencies to take all precautionary measures and fully equip with the necessary machinery, such as dewatering pumps and dumpers, along with the skilled staff. The meeting also reviewed the work of cleanliness and desilting of stormwater drains being carried out by the KMC, the DMCs and the Cantonment Boards.

The commissioner was also briefed by KMC official Musheer Ahmed about World Bank project ‘Click and Sweep’ for the cleaning of drains in the city. Under the programmes, the KMC official explained that at least 33 KMC and DMCs’ drains would be cleaned and fixed.

He said the cleanliness work would begin from the upcoming week and they were setting up an office at Jam Chakro for disposal of garbage lifted from drains. However, as for the small nullahs, he said, they would be cleaned by the relevant agencies such as DMCs and Cantonment Boards.

Shallwani directed the KMC, the DMCs, the Cantonment Boards and other relevant civic agencies to make all-out efforts to complete the work of desilting and cleaning of nullahs which were their responsibilities before monsoon rains kicked off.

He asked the KMC and other departments to ensure that the choking points of all nullahs were cleared. The KMC and other departments briefed the commissioner about the contingency plans prepared by them during the meeting.

In the meeting, the PDMA was asked to make arrangements for the provision of the dewatering pumps to the municipal departments in coordination with the relevant deputy commissioners. It was also decided that all such points would be cleared where rainwater clogged.

For such points, dewatering pumps would be installed. The commissioner asked the KMC and other departments to make special arrangements to ensure that Saadi Town and the K-Electric grid stations were not inundated this time round.

The KMC, the DMCs, the Cantonment Boards and the SSWMB assured the commissioner that they were fully prepared for this year’s monsoon season and that they had prepared their contingency plans in this regard. It was decided in the meeting that contingency plans would be implemented in the coordination and supervision of the relevant deputy commissioners.