KARACHI, Dec 13: Overflowing sewage from chocked gutter lines has inundated the Baba Ahmed Road, the main artery linking the Mohammadi Colony with the Mauripur Road in Keamari.
Expressing concern over the prevailing insanitary conditions in the colony due to filthy water, the residents feared that if immediate remedial steps were not taken, epidemic diseases might break out in the colony.
They said sewage had been flooding the streets from the chocked gutter lines for the several weeks, but civic authorities have so far failed to take corrective measures, despite repeated protests to them.
The colony, comprising a population of more than 500,000 people, is without a proper drainage system despite the fact it is situated on the tail-end of Karachi Fish Harbour and Kalri nullah.
Sewage could always be seen flooding the streets for weeks.
The Kalri drain which carries sewage from districts South and West also passes through the colony. Its overflowing water always runs into the streets and narrow lanes of the colony.
A CBO activist Samiul Haq said the situation remained unchanged, the people would have no option, but to close the drain by mud and stones.
He said for the past three months he had been running from pillar to post and submitting applications to officials concerned drawing the attention of the authorities to miserable conditions faced by the people in the colony due to filthy water.
He said the worst conditions existed on the Baba Ahmed Road for the past few months where the main mosque of the area is situated and faithful have been facing a lot of problems. The colony is devoid of all basic facilities because of conflicting claims of the land owning agencies including the KPT over the ownership of the land.
The KPT which claimed the ownership of the land had never paid attention to the development of the colony, the residents complained.
The residents further said they had been struggling for the regularisation of the colony for the last three decades but their efforts could not bear fruit.
A couple years back the defunct DMC-West had initiated some measures for construction of the main road and laid some gutter lines but work on these projects remained incomplete because of paucity of funds.
