KARCHI: People suffer as flood forces road closure
By Naseer Ahmad
KARCHI, Aug 2: The Malir watercourse has flown as a majestic medium-size river for the last four days thanks to a fair amount of rainfall in its catchment area, silencing its detractors who insist on calling it a naddi, stream or rivulet.
However, it has flown over the spans of roads running across its bed. As a consequence, it has partially damaged the road and forced the diversion of traffic flow onto other roads, adding to the traffic jams caused by standing rainwater everywhere.
The most affected was the traffic bound for Landhi and Korangi that normally passes through the stretch between Qayyumabad and Korangi Crossing. Its traffic was shifted onto the Korangi Industrial Area Road, which is already battered by frequent breakdowns of sewers along it.
Even when it is dry, it is motorists’ nightmare. It is not only badly potholed, big chunks of its surface are missing altogether. Its link roads are in worse condition.
This causes snarls-up at both ends of the Jam Sadiq Ali bridge. At the one end of the bridge is the under-construction KPT flyover whereas its other end opens at the roundabout called Godown Chowrangi.
The flyover project, despite that work is being done on it day and night, will take several more months to complete. It surrounding roads have developed deep potholes.
A little upstream is the stretch that connects Mehmoodabad to the Korangi Industrial Area. This road also accommodates a heavy traffic, which now takes a detour through the Express Way and the Jam Sadiq bridge.
Further up is the span that connects Korangi’s Gulzar Colony to Shah Faisal Colony No 5. Another span running across the Malir riverbed joins the agricultural farms of Malir to Shah Faisal Colony 2. Here, a flyover is under construction that will connect Shah Faisal Colony to Korangi Industrial Area’s Singer Chowrangi.
This flyover will facilitate the movement of traffic across the river, on the one hand, and ease movement of upcountry-bound trailers and oil tankers.
Whereas the Lyari river is flanked by unplanned, shanty houses, the Malir river is enclosed on both sides with dykes built with the World Bank’s assistance to save the industrial area and some low-lying localities from being flooded.
The former city nazim, Niamatullah Khan, had announced that a bridge would be built over the river at the Korangi Crossing-Qayyumabad point, but nothing has followed.
Travellers on Korangi Road say that the current closure of the road and inconvenience to people emphasises the urgent need for a bridge.
