Special funds for drains de-silting

KARACHI : Sindh Information and Local Government Syed Nasir Hussain Shah has said rain emergency has been declared in all the municipal agencies of the province in view of the forecast of more than usual rains this year during the monsoon season.

In a statement issued on Saturday, he said that the provincial government had taken due precautionary measures, including the de-silting of the storm water drains, to safeguard the people from feared devastation due to heavy monsoonal rains. Shah said the government had been ensuring timely completion of the task of the de-silting of the storm water drains so as to protect the masses from hardships during the monsoon season. In this regard, he added, a rain emergency had been declared in all the districts. The minister stated that the chief minister had authorised the release of special funds for the de-silting of storm water drains in Karachi under the control of the district municipal corporations. He said emergency work being carried out on the basis of special funds released by the government would ensure quick disposal of rainwater from the city.

He said work related to removing waste from the storm water drains of the city would soon be completed as all the relevant stakeholders had been involved in the process. The work was was being carried out with support of the World Bank, he noted.