KARACHI: Hours before the first spell of the monsoon struck the city on Wednesday, Deputy Mayor Arshad Vohra said the municipal leadership of the metropolis was fully prepared to combat all sorts of emergencies.

“We have made arrangements to face any emergency as our engineering people are there to serve [citizens] on call round-the-clock,” said the deputy mayor while addressing a press conference at the KMC Sports Complex.

He advised the citizens to call the engineering department of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation on 99230951 or the central rain emergency centre on 99244559 in event of assistance because of torrential rains.

“Each of the six districts of Karachi has been provided with a grab crane and other required equipment to continuously clean nullahs [storm-water drains] during monsoons,” he said.

Besides, he added, vehicles meant for rescue operations had also been deployed in all the districts. Drainage pumps are functional and ready to drain rainwater from underpasses and other such locations.

Speaking about the city’s vulnerable power supply network, he said the municipal authorities were in contact with K-Electric, which assured them that it had sorted out all the required arrangements to save lives from electrocution which had, otherwise, been a major cause of loss of human lives during torrential rains.

“We have asked the relevant authorities in the six districts of the city to remove all obstacles in the way of rain emergency measures and draining of rainwater,” he said.

Mr Vohra said the city wardens were also there to keep traffic flow normal during rains, which would be possible through the related preparedness. “The traffic flow could remain smooth if all other rain emergency operations are successful. We are trying to make it happen through all available resources and equipment we have.”

Besides, the deputy mayor said, doctors and paramedics in all hospitals in the city had been directed to remain on alert. He expressed the hope that the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board, which was no longer being administered by the KMC, would work effectively as it was expected to do.

He appealed to the citizens to help the civic bodies work effectively by not throwing trash in storm-water drains and said the KMC had proposed to declare throwing trash in nullahs as cognisable offence because such practice created nuisance and adversely affected the cleaning operations.

Mr Vohra said removal of encroachment along Gujjar Nullah and its cleaning had improved its flow and requested the Sindh government to construct a wall along the stretched drain and complete the road alongside it early to discourage further encroachment and ensure its better functioning in future.

He asked people to avoid going outdoors unnecessarily during rainfall and keep safer distance from electricity poles and other locations and equipment which could harm human life. Mr Vohra claimed that the city’s master plan had completely failed as no one could be stopped from taking water and sewerage connections without permission of the relevant authorities.

More than half of the city comprised katchi abadis, he said, adding that rescue teams were on alert to take care of the city’s endangered buildings.

Published in Dawn, June 29th, 2017