KARACHI, July 26: Rains on Saturday disrupted civic life in the city, and a number of major thoroughfares were partially inundated with rainwater, causing inconvenience to motorists and commuters.
However, the flooding of Qayyumabad-Hino Chowk, Korangi Road, Expressway (from Baloch Colony to Qayyumabad roundabout), with rainwater, caused traffic jams and vehicular traffic proceeding to and from Korangi moved a snail’s pace, causing delays and wastage of fuel.
Bumper-to-bumper driving was also seen at Korangi Industrial Area road as motorists and public transport drivers preferred to take this road in the wake of flooding of the Korangi Road.
A motorist told Dawn that it took him two-and-a-half hour to reach Korangi from Qayyumabad roundabout.
Similarly, flow of traffic between Karachi Airport and Malir City almost came to a standstill as a portion of the road caved- in between Malir City nullah and the Railway crossing.
Malir Town Nazim Azam Ali told Dawn that a portion of the road which caved-in on Saturday was recently built following laying of a sewerage line. But since the material used in its construction was of inferior quality, a portion of it caved-in on Saturday afternoon. He said he had already apprised the DCO Karachi about the situation.
Residents of low-lying areas suffered the most as narrow streets submerged with rainwater. Ankle-deep water remained stagnant on various streets of the Old City areas and some of these included Lyari’s Bhitai Road, Atma Ram Road, Shah Waliullah Road, a portion of Mohammad Bin Qasim Road (formerly known as Burnes Road, Ramsawami, Bhimpura, Ranchorre Lane and near Haquani Chowk.
From ankle to knee-deep water was seen at different main roads, which resulted into failures of vehicles engines.
Rainwater not only disturbed life in the city’s low-lying and the Old City areas, it also caused hardships to pedestrians.
As rainwater remained stagnant on roads owing to choked storm-water drains, commuters who were dropped in the middle of road by drivers of buses, mini-buses and coaches, had no choice but to pass through the filthy water.
Moreover, knee-deep water was seen at number of other major thoroughfares, including M R Keyani Road, Clifton’s Teen Talwar roundabout, Shon Circle, Bath Island’s Gulshan-i-Faisal, a major portion of M A Jinnah Road, Jehangir Road, Sir Shah Suleman Road, Sharea Quaideen, near Khudadad Colony, a track of Capt Fareed Bukhari Road (from Sharea Faisal to Sindhi Muslim Housing Society’s main roundabout), parts of main University Road. Vehicular traffic on these roads moved at a snail’s pace and pedestrians had to wade through the rainwater.
A portion of the VVIP Road, Sharea Faisal (from Sharah-i- Quaideen to Karsaz), was also flooded with rainwater and motorists passing through Nursery Area faced difficulties. Flooding of water on this portion of the Sharea is attributed to choking of a stormwater drain, situated across Shah Faisal Colony.
A large number of vehicles got stuck up in the rainwater.
Flooding of roads and streets of the Old City areas was attributed to conversion of major nullahs, particularly those situated Urdu Bazaar, Shaheen Complex, Light-House Cinema into shopping centres and parking areas.
Sources in the concerned town administration said the covering of nullahs has made the task of their cleaning almost impossible.
MANHOLES: Complaints of flushing of rainwater into sewerage system manholes, instead of stormwater drains, were received from different towns.
Residents of Saddar, Lyari and Jamshed Towns complained that sanitary workers in their localities were seen draining out rainwater into sewage manholes after removing their covers.
They apprehend that some pedestrians might fall into the manholes which had been left uncovered after flushing the rainwater into them.
A spokesman for the city government’s water and sanitation department has once again cautioned the sanitary/health staff of the towns not to release rainwater into manholes as such acts result in the choking of sewerage system and also pose danger to the lives of the people as most of the manholes are 20 to 25 feet deep.
“Sewerage manholes are meant for domestic sewerage of houses only and the trend of flushing of rainwater into manholes whereby waste material, such as polythene bags, garbage and mud, enters into the sewerage lines, might result in the collapse of the city’s sewerage system,” he warned, saying a 24-inch dia sewerage line had already sunk in Federal B’ Area’s Block 12 owing to flushing of rainwater in it.