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Thursday March 28, 2024

Citizens suffer power breakdown, snarl-ups as downpour floods several areas in city

By M. Waqar Bhatti
August 22, 2020

The heavy rain in Karachi on Friday brought misery to the city again as it caused urban flooding and disruption in power supply in many areas.

The northern areas of the city were most affected by the rain where drains overflowed and roads were submerged in rainwater, which also entered houses in low-lying areas of Surjani Town, North Karachi and Orangi Town.

The downpour also paralysed life in Nazimabad and North Nazimabad as most of the roads there were flooded with sewage-mixed rainwater, causing heavy traffic jams.

Heavy downpour caused overflowing of the Gujjar Nullah as well as other storm water drains in the North Karachi and Liaquatabad areas, which not only flooded roads but water also entered in many localities damaged property with thousands of motorcycles and cars remaining submerged in four-to-five-foot-deep water for a long time.

Surjani Town was the most affected area due to rain as it received over 186 millimetres of rainfall. The authorities said the Hub Canal that brought water to Karachi from the Hub Dam also overflowed, causing water to enter some residential projects near the Northern Bypass.

A similar situation was observed in different areas of Orangi Town, Manghopir, Baldia Town and Frontier Colony where rainwater mixed with sewage entered houses. According to locals of these areas, there was still four-to-five-foot deep water on streets and roads there till the filing of this story late in the night.

Thousands of people remained trapped in snarl-ups on Shahrah-e-Pakistan, Rashid Minhas Road, Shershah Soori Road, Siddiq Wahab Road, Shahrah-e-Usman Ramz, Shahrah-e-Shah Waliullah and their adjoining roads.

A large number of vehicles remained stuck on various roads leading to Nagan Chowrangi, North Karachi, Nazimabad and North Nazimabad.

Power breakdown

Vast areas of Karachi were deprived of electricity as soon as the rain started in the afternoon after over 200 feeders of K-Electric were either switched off or tripped.

Till the filing of this report, hundreds of thousands of homes and buildings were without electricity in Nazimabad, North Nazimabad, North Karachi, Orangi Town, Surjani Town and adjoining areas while many other areas in District East and District West were also affected due to the power breakdown.

In many localities of District Central and District West, residents complained that they were without power since 2pm on Friday.

KE’s explanation

With another wave of monsoon showers hitting Karachi, the K-Electric (KE) reiterated the call for following all necessary safety protocols.

In a statement issued, the power utility highlighted the dangers of electrocution inside buildings due to faults in internal wiring. It also urged its customers to be mindful of the infrastructural issues of Karachi such as encroachments and water logging.

KE claimed that its teams were available round the clock for addressing faults and complaints. In certain areas such as Orangi Town, Sohrab Goth, North Nazimabad, North Karachi, Liaquatabad and Baldia Town, it said it was necessary to shut down power due to waterlogging.

Areas rife with water logging were at risk of becoming hazardous electrocution zones due to the possibility of fallen internet and TV cables in addition to power poles that might fall because of trees falling on them due to thunderstorm, the statement read.

The power utility explained that during the rain on Friday, it was compelled in the interest of ensuring public safety to deliberately suspend power supply to more than 350 feeders where there was severe waterlogging and presence of kundas.

KE said it was committed to making the best possible efforts to restore power but it prioritised the safety of its customers and on-ground staff. It also appealed to the civic authorities to coordinate with one another to ensure that the necessary protocols, such as clearance of the drainage system, removal of encroachments from the power infrastructure, pruning of overgrown foliage and other preventive measures, were followed.