KMC to buy 15 rainwater drainage pumps

The Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) has decided to purchase 15 more pumps and deliver them to places where rainwater accumulates in large quantities in the city.

Administrator KMC Laeeq Ahmed has directed KMC officials to conduct a thorough survey of underpasses and low-lying areas and prepare a plan for storm water discharge.

Addressing a meeting on rain emergency on Friday, he directed his subordinates to make all arrangements for the monsoon season, including pumps for drainage management in underpasses.

Metropolitan Commissioner Danish Saeed, Finance Adviser Ghulam Murtaza Bhutto, Senior Director Coordination Khalid Khan, Director General Technical Services Shabih Ul Hasnain Zaidi, Director General Parks Taha Saleem, Senior Director Municipal Services SM Taha, Chief Engineer Electrical and Mechanical Abbas Shah, Director Municipal Services Noman Arshad, Director City Warden Raja Rustam, Dawaat Islami Disaster Management Incharge Shafaat Ali Attari and Yahya Attari were also present on the occasion.

The administrator said that it had rained in the suburbs of Karachi, including the Super Highway and Gadap Town on Friday.

The monsoon rains, he said, had practically started in Karachi and all the departments should be functional as per the given plan. He said that all the relevant departments of the KMC, district municipal corporation (DMCs), cantonment boards, Karachi Water and Sewerage Board and Sindh Solid Waste Management Boards should remain connected with each other regarding rain emergencies so that a joint strategy could be adopted in rainy days.

Ahmed said that all the officers should ensure coordination and provide complete lists of officers and staff deployed in this regard so that it was be easy to communicate with each other. He said that the drainage system in the underpasses should be kept in good condition and a method be devised so that water could be pumped out as soon as possible.

"An emergency cell for citizens' complaints will also be operational 24 hours a day and will be responsible for providing immediate assistance to citizens by receiving complaints," he said. The administrator said that special attention should be paid to the low-lying areas where water was expected to accumulate more, and arrangements should be made in this regard in light of the past experiences. He said the emergency situation had its own requirements, which must be met.