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KARACHI, Aug 16: The sewerage system of almost the entire old city has collapsed following the recent rains, flooding various roads and streets with sewage, besides polluting the environment of the affected localities.
Most of the roads, including the busy Shahrah-i-Iraq and a main road that connects M.A. Jinnah Road with Haqqani Chowk, near Paper Market, are still flooded with filthy sewage and rainwater, causing hindrance in the smooth flow of vehicular traffic and inconvenience to pedestrians.
The other localities whose streets are still partially submerged with filthy water gushing out from choked gutters and sewerage lines include Ranchorre Line, Nanakwara, parts of Lyari, Lines Area, Nishtar Road, Jameela Street, Kharadar, Mithadar and its adjoining areas.
Attributing the cause of overflowing gutters and choked sewerage lines to the flushing of rainwater into manholes, sources in the KWSB said that the sanitary staff of different town municipal administrations drained the rainwater accumulated on roads into manholes by uncovering their lids. As such, not only did mud but even polythene bags made their way into the sewerage lines, resulting in their choking and overflowing.
The rainwater mixed with sewage has, on the one hand, created a stinking atmosphere and unhygienic conditions and, on the other, exposed the residents of the affected localities to serious health hazards as they apprehend that filthy sewage might seep into water pipelines.
People residing in the affected localities deplored that although they had lodged a number of complaints with the KWSB officials as well as with the officials manning the city government’s much-publicised complaint centre on its 1339 telephone number, no measures have, so far, been taken to drain the filthy sewage from the roads.
“We do not know how our children will cross the submerged roads while going to school,” a leader of the Bohra community, who resides in the vicinity of Paper Market, asked, saying that main Shahrah-i-Iraq is inundated with filthy water and Haqqani Chowk Road, which runs parallel to Shahrah-i-Iraq, has been lying in a precarious condition after it was dug up.
People living in old buildings of Haqqani Chowk, Pakistan Chowk and Paper Market are facing immense inconvenience daily while going to and from their workplaces and educational institutions because Shahrah-i-Iraq is submerged with sewage while the remaining four roads (I.I. Chundrigar Road, main Haqqani Chowk Road and a portion of Dr Ziauddin Ahmed Road (from Shaheen Complex traffic intersection to Pakistan Chowk) were dug up quite some time back for their reconstruction.
Besides, those residing in old buildings in front of Burnes Garden and P&T Colony are also facing difficulties as both the localities have been sandwiched between the two dug-up roads.
Similarly, students of D.J. Science College and S.M. Law College are also experiencing inconvenience as a portion of Dr Ziauddin Ahmed Road, where these colleges are located, has also been ploughed.
Expressing dismay over the digging of a main road which connects Haqqani Chowk with Pakistan Chowk, people residing in the vicinity said that it was beyond their comprehension why this road had been dug up, since there was no need to reconstruct it.
It was perhaps the only cemented road in the city which was constructed before partition and had never been ploughed during the last 60 years and always remained in good condition.
Residents also complained that the authorities concerned, while digging the road, have also reduced the width of its pavements, thus compelling pedestrians to walk on the busy road amidst vehicular traffic as more than half of the pavement has been heavily encroached upon by roadside hotels and shopkeepers.
