KARACHI: Despite contributing significantly to the provincial and national exchequers for decades, Karachi has not been able to receive the kind of political ownership it deserves. Matters have become so bad that today, the city could be best described as an urbanised slum dotted with overflowing gutters and heaps of garbage. It won’t be an exaggeration to say that the city has no capacity to bear even a single day’s light rain as it can easily disrupt public life.

Faiza Ilyas recently spoke to Dr Noman Ahmed, head of the department of architecture and urban planning at the NED University of Engineering and Technology, Karachi, to look into the severity and scale of the sewerage problem as well as to seek recommendations to improve the situation.

Q: How would you explain the scale and severity of the sewerage problem that is closely linked to public health safety?

A: I believe the scale and severity of the sewerage problem is enormous. There are several dimensions to it. The overall approach to physical planning of our neighbourhoods, densification and re-patterning of the existing neighbourhoods and all such buildings and complexes that produce sewage need to be examined.

The pre- and post-partition Karachi is laid down along the geographical thresholds of the coastline, natural drains, leftover hilly terrain and later the north-south and east-west arterial streets. The water supply and sewerage network also follows these precepts. However, there are serious violations of topographic requirements to make sewage flow from north to south through gravity.

Ad hoc additions and attachments to the laid-down sewerage [system] have played havoc with the normal ejection of sewage towards the south.

Inaccurate physical planning did not let the sewerage treatment plants connect with the actual flow of sewage, much of which is led through nullahs or storm-water drains.

Q: Could you explain the causes behind the collapsed sewerage system of the city?

A: An important cause is the development of a range of projects without planning and integration with an overall strategy. The various government departments prepare development schemes and submit them to the relevant government agency for budget allocation. Thereafter, the successful schemes are constructed, without an overall relationship with the plan.

Q: Has this situation developed on account of prolonged administrative inefficiency over decades or is it a recent phenomenon?

A: Yes. There have been too many changes in the local administration during the last half century. The changes are still going on.

Q: Would you like to comment on the way the KWSB is dealing with the situation?

A: There has been very little emphasis by the KWSB on improving the sewerage [system]. While many internationally assisted projects led to hardware improvement such as capacity enhancement of the plants, no comprehensive effort has been made by the board to deal with the increasing demands and modernisation of service.

Q: Please recommend some steps for improving the sewerage system of the city.

A: The utility’s board may be reconstituted to make it functional, practical and relevant in respect to providing policy guidance to the KWSB. Addition of relevant stakeholders such as civil society organisations related to water and sanitation, prominent professionals, representatives of trade bodies and developers may also be considered.

Recovery of bills may be considered as a packaged service for targeted outsourcing. It may help raise the much-needed operational revenue for the board.

The KWSB must make efforts to acquire a brand name and status whereby competent engineers and management professionals may find it attractive to join the board.

Published in Dawn February 9th, 2017