KARACHI: With the monsoon is on its way, the town administration of Gulshan-i-Iqbal has sought immediate cleaning of storm-water drains coming under the administration of Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC), otherwise, it believes, the situation could lead to urban flooding in one of the most populated neighbourhoods of the city.

In a letter to Karachi Mayor Barrister Murtaza Wahab, Gulshan Town Municipal Corporation (TMC) chairman Dr Fauad Ahmed referred to some eight storm-water drains in the town which are managed, maintained and cleaned by the KMC.

“I kindly request you to direct the KMC authorities to prioritise the cleaning of nullahs in the Gulshan-i-Iqbal TMC before the monsoon arrives,” he said while mentioning the storm-water drains in the town by name.

The drains in Gulshan-i-Iqbal Town, which are not cleaned yet, include those of Essa Nagri, Songal, Leemo Goth, Al Mustafa, Urdu University, Aziz Bhatti, Mumtaz Manzil and Shabbir Ahmed Usmani Road.

Four drains connected with dug-up University Road could cause havoc with traffic during rains, town officials believe

Interestingly, Gulshan Town sources said that four out of eight drains, which were mentioned by the town chairman, were lined or connected with University Road one way or the other.

“And we all know that University Road right now is in a state of mess due to slow-paced development of Red Line project,” said a source.

“In this scenario, the cleaning of nullah off the University Road is more important as in case of rains, the situation could become worst due to the already bad situation of the road because of Red Line project development.”

Earlier this month, while briefing a meeting called by the Sindh government under the chief secretary to discuss the arrangements for the upcoming monsoon rains, Mayor Wahab told the officials that the KMC was engaged in cleaning 586 drains across the city.

The KMC sources said the corporation, responsible for maintaining the drainage system, had requested Rs800 million for the crucial task of cleaning of storm-water drains. But the provincial government had allocated only Rs410 million days before the monsoon onset, he added.

Published in Dawn, July 17th, 2024