• Nearly four inches of rain recorded in Surjani Town
• Met office forecasts hot, humid weather today

KARACHI: At least three children were killed in different rain-related incidents in the metropolis, which received intermittent spells of moderate-to-heavy rainfall for the third consecutive day on Tuesday

Most residents complained of a collapse of sewerage system, accumulation of rainwater, mixed with sewage, on key arteries and caving in of some roads which were constructed / carpeted recently.

The Met office recorded highest amount of rainfall, 100millimetre, or 3.93 inches, in Surjani Town followed by 58mm in Saddar, 54mm in Gulshan-i-Maymar, 52mm on University Road and 51mm in North Karachi.

The maximum temperature recorded in the metropolis on Tuesday was 34 degrees Celsius.

The Met office predicted hot and humid weather in Karachi and most parts of the province on Wednesday (today).

It, however, predicted rain and thundershower for Sukkur, Larkana, Qambar-Shahdadkot and Khairpur.

City’s ill-maintained drainage system

The city’s drainage system in most areas failed to respond effectively again and only ad-hoc arrangements, deployment of machinery and additional workforce for manual operation led to a relief in the areas which witnessed urban flooding.

Two major arteries in district Central — Shahrah-i-Pakistan and Shershah Suri Road — again witnessed a flood-like situation due to overflowing drains and choked gutters.

The situation took more than two hours to normalise after the city administration intervened.

By the start of the second half of the day, the situation in most parts of the city turned almost normal.

Two drown, one electrocuted

A 10-year-old boy drowned in a pond filled with rainwater in Ittehad Town, police said.

Area SHO Imdad Panhwar said the victim, Shahid Kaleem, was on his way when he drowned near Pakistan Hotel in Mohammed Khan Colony. The body was shifted to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital (ASH).

Police surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed confirmed the death of the boy but added that the relatives did not allow doctors to fulfil medico-legal formalities.

The SHO said the family was reluctant to pursue the case legally.

In another incident, a minor boy was electrocuted in New Karachi on Tuesday, police said.

New Karachi DSP Kamal Naseem said the boy, identified as Jannat Gul, suffered an electric shock in Ashraf Goth. He was shifted to a nearby private hospital where doctors pronounced him dead on arrival. Later, the body was shifted to the ASH for medico-legal formalities.

Separately, three-year-old Mohammed Ajmal drowned when he fell in a pond in Block-F, North Nazimabad on Tuesday, a spokesperson for Edhi Foundation said.

The body was shifted to a nearby hospital for medico-legal formalities.

Published in Dawn, July 26th, 2023