KARACHI: Flooded cantt area needs city govt’s help
By Naseer Ahmad
KARACHI, Aug 28: A couple of huge ponds formed by rainwater mixed with sewage attract children and buffaloes to have a dip whenever the sun, playing hide-and-seek with swathes of monsoon clouds, beats down mercilessly.
The ponds of varying sizes and depths are as many as there are undeveloped plots and open spaces, which are in their hundreds in Altaf Town and Bhitai Colony.
The twin settlements along the main Korangi Road are (mis)managed by the Korangi Cantonment Board, headed by an executive officer and overseen by a base commander.
Considering the post-rain situation in parts of the Defence Housing Authority and at many other places in the city, the three recent spells of rain have been too much for the locality sitting next to the sea. Barring the few blocks whose roads have recently been carpeted, the settlements have been impassable both for people on foot and wheels.
Despite widespread criticism and occasional scuffles over the quality of the roads’ construction, they have generally survived the deluge. So have the recently laid sewage lines and manholes.
Efforts being made by the cantonment administration rid the area of water are too feeble in the face of the tough task ahead. A couple of pumps are located sputtering in the far corners of the settlements and passages have been made for water to flow out in bulk.
But it will take weeks or probably months to rid the localities of the stinking ponds of water. In the meantime, the half a million residents will suffer the swarms of flies and mosquitoes, alternately attacking them during the day and night.
Considering that water-borne and mosquito-spread diseases may break out any time in the two localities, the city government should come to the rescue of these God-forsaken settlements, one named after MQM chief Altaf Hussain.
If the city government could help the affluent DHA and Clifton areas, these settlements deserve its attention more.
