AS expected, this monsoon, too, has left Karachi devastated owing to lack of proper civic structure. Every year, the monsoon spell turns into deadly rainfall and wreaks havoc on the city’s infrastructure and population, turning its streets into rivers, inundating houses, and electrocuting people.

Also, as happens as a matter of routine, everyone has talked and posted about the rains, and blamed and defended this stakeholder or that, but not many seem to have any idea how to address the issue.

Before discussing a solution, it is important to ask why Karachi has been devastated when the comprehensive plan of experts was put forward years ago to mitigate the adverse impact of future heavy rainfall. The present condition of Karachi is a result of two things: the government’s unwillingness to implement the recommendations of renowned urban planners, and the political differences within the city that are consistently making it difficult to rationally address infrastructure issues.

If the work of the architects and planners were presented to the people of Karachi, they would surely be fascinated to know about the research work done on urban planning for the metropolis. Arif Hasan is one expert who has focussed on providing solutions to the problems, and has extensively written about it.

He has discussed plans to improve the sewerage and drainage system in Karachi in order to prevent flooding and human casualties during monsoons. However, the government has not taken these credible and reliable research plans seriously.

According to the plan, one way to deal with urban flooding is to stop illegal construction of buildings over nullahs and to regulate the elite settlements in the Defence Housing Authority (DHA) in accordance with the relevant laws. These are the main reasons hindering the flow of water into the sea, especially during high tide.

Additionally, real estate development on natural drainage channels also causes flooding, especially in the north of the city in Manghopir hills, including Naya Nazimabad, which has been built over Manghopir lake, and has demolished the geological formations that once held naturally occurring drainage channels and water collection depressions.

These reasons clearly demonstrate the government’s lack of understanding of the infrastructure and drainage system of the city when it granted building permits.

Undoubtedly, the government’s poor management in three key areas are the contributing factors to urban flooding; development of informal infrastructure around major storm water drainage lines, lack of a sustainable social housing policy, and the dumping of solid waste into the drains.

To tackle the monsoon woes, the government should convene researchers, architects, environmentalists, economists and all other relevant stakeholders to find ways to utilise the research-based plans to improve Karachi’s drainage system. This is the only way to prevent further disasters and urban flooding.

Maheen Ghous
Karachi

Published in Dawn, July 16th, 2022