I WAS thrilled to read the announcement by Lt-Gen Muhammad Afzal, chairman of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), that cleaning of storm water drains in Karachi would begin from Aug 3 and it commenced on the given date time group by the general.

It was most exhilarating news for the people of Karachi who have suffered agonisingly for decades after every torrential rain. Indeed Karachi needed an operation with surgical precision to clear and deep-clean Karachi’s choked storm water drains. But there was no remedy in sight.

During nightmarish rains we were tortured on roads for hours. After inching our way in the smelly water we had to abandon our cars on unsafe roads when we ran out of gas.

So a real time search to find out a permanent solution to urban flooding is like a breath of fresh air and a ray of light at the end of tunnel.

It is heartening to note that our prime minister signed a summary authorising NDMA and the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) to carry out a cleanliness drive in Karachi with ‘unlimited funds’ and a long-term role of the federal and military organisations.

I must point out here that the FWO has a very good reputation of carrying out daunting tasks with a missionary zeal. The FWO played a pivotal role in making Lowari tunnel and in the construction of Karakoram Highway where some of its workers laid down their lives to accomplish the task assigned to them.

In Balochistan, under the lurking threat of terrorist attacks, they are constructing roads in the boiling hot rocky desert.

A few points which Lt-Gen Afzal has emphasised in connection with finding out a permanent solution to avoid flooding after rains deserve mention here.

He apprised us that: 1) the metropolis produces 20,000 tonnes of solid waste daily of which only 3,000 to 4,000 is picked up because it is ‘useful’. Across the world, solid waste is considered a source of revenue, but for us it is a nuisance. 2) Because encroachments had popped up on the city’s storm water drains, the sewerage drainage system was not separate. 3) Even if the sewerage system is separate in some areas you cannot put that water into the drainage system without treating it. If you don’t treat sewerage, heavy sediments will begin to settle and the system will collapse in two to three years. 4) The FWO will clean Sharea Faisal storm water drains, both sides, along with adjacent choking points. 5) The provincial government, with the support of the army and NDMA, will remove encroachments from all storm water drains in the city.

The silver lining in the whole plan is that the commander of V corps has also been given the responsibility to oversee the whole operation to reinforce the resources of NDMA to carry out this national duty.

A resident
Karachi

Published in Dawn, August 10th, 2020