KARACHI: Cleaning of 38 big drains of Karachi started on Thursday under the World Bank’s Competitive and Liveable City of Karachi project, better known as CLICK.

Local Government Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah and Karachi Mayor Wasim Akhtar inaugurated the campaign that began from Mehmoodabad and would be completed within 45 days with a cost of $8 million.

Local Government Secre­tary Roshan Ali Shaikh, senior director coordination Masood Alam and other officials concerned were also present on the occasion.

The LG minister said that blockage of drains was a major issue and efforts were being made to resolve this problem with the assistance of the World Bank.

He said that the National Engineering Services Pakistan (Nespak) had also been included in the project to ensure removal of garbage from drains and its shifting to landfill sites.

Nasir Shah said that billions of rupees had been spent on drains’ cleanliness in the past, but the required results could not be achieved. “This time we’ll try to ensure the work is done in a proper manner,” he added.

Mayor Akhtar said that the city’s municipal administration had informed Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and the LG minister about the blockage of drains which were full of garbage. “Storm-water drains have now been converted into sewerage drains,” he added.

Mr Akhtar said that heavy rains were predicted in the city and the current situation was very concerning as there was also a threat of urban flooding.

Hailing the provincial government for initiating drains’ cleanliness, he expressed the hope that the work would continue in the future as well. “We hope that cleaning of drains will be done on consistent basis so that these issues can be resolved,” he added.

He said that 265-kilometre nullahs would be cleaned during the drains’ cleanliness drive. “The work has been started from Mehmoodabad and the same would be expanded to other areas,” he added.

The mayor requested the citizens not to dump garbage in drains as it led to blockage of the nullahs.

He also asked the provincial government to make Sindh Solid Waste Management Board active to collect garbage. “The drainage system cannot be effective until disposal of garbage at landfill sites is ensured,” he added.

Later, the LG minister along with the mayor reviewed cleaning work in Mehm­oodabad and passed directives to officials concerned.

They were also briefed about the cleanliness measures.

Published in Dawn, July 3rd, 2020