KARACHI, Dec 27: Unhygienic conditions prevail in many localities of the city with portions of several major thoroughfares and busy malls inundated by sewage gushing out of chocked or damaged pipelines.

The affected roads, malls and streets include Zaibunnisa Street, Mir Karam Ali Talpur Road, Raja Ghazanfar Ali Road, Preedy Street and Mansfield Street. Residents of Kharadar, Mithadar, Urdu Bazaar area, Shahrah-i-Liaquat old city areas, Lyari and some blocks of Gulshan-i-Iqbal have also complained of a similar situation in their localities.

Shoppers have been facing immense hardship while moving across the affected portions of Saddar areas, including Bohri Bazaar, as sewage has not only blocked access to shops but also created a stinking atmosphere all around. Residents of the affected localities, mainly Bohra and Christian communities, are deeply perturbed owing to the situation.

Shopkeepers of Bohri Bazaar complained that the nuisance of overflowing gutters had become a chronic problem with gutters overflowing very frequently. The authorities concerned had failed to rectify the faults responsible for the problem, they said.

They pointed out that they had been suffering badly for months in terms of business as the unhygienic conditions were keeping customers away from their shops. At the same time, they added, the overflowing sewage had polluted the environment of the shopping malls and the residential areas, creating a serious health hazard.

Residents of Gulshan-i-Iqbal’s block 13 complained that sewage had accumulated across a major portion of a busy street (between Al-Mustafa Hospital and Cosy Homes). The street runs parallel to the main University Road and has an open area where a weekly bazaar is held.

They claimed that the KWSB had not made any arrangement so far to clear the road of the filthy water or rectify the fault responsible for the problem.

Water shortage