KARACHI: CDGK criticised for ignoring encroached storm-water drains
KARACHI, July 22: Structures built over storm-water drains cause major problems during heavy rains, but the city government does not seem interested in reclaiming them.
Some parts of the Sindh Secretariat, Arts Council of Pakistan, Karachi, Shaheen Complex, Urdu Bazaar, Taj Complex, Light House, Glass Towers next to Habib Bank and numerous other structures have long existed illegally over rainwater drains, but the city authorities have taken no action against these.
Perveen Rehman, Chairperson of the Orangi Pilot Project and an expert on sewerage and drainage issues, while talking to PPI said that using storm-water drains for parking lots and other constructions was illegal and can create serious problems during heavy rains. She regretted that such encroachments over nullahs had been ignored for so long.
“The Karachi Port Trust and Defence Housing Authority have both reduced the size of the outfall of the Soldier Bazaar and City Railway nullahs by encroaching upon them at Boating Basin, which results in the accumulation of water during heavy rains.”
She said that cleaning and de-silting of nullahs and storm-water drains was good but not useful in the long term.
She added that the point where the Manzoor Colony nullah (via Qayyumabad) met the Malir River was also shrinking due to construction of the ‘Creek City’ project, which would inevitably affect the sewerage system of the surrounding areas.
The Lyari River, which drains more than 50 per cent of the city’s water, was reduced to a width of only 150 to 200 feet, against its earlier width of 1,000 feet due to the construction of the Lyari Expressway.
“Its depth cannot be increased as it would go below sea level,” she mentioned.
