KARACHI: Gutters in many areas overflowing

Published December 25, 2004

KARACHI, Dec 24: Filthy water gushing out from choked sewerage lines and gutters has created unhygienic conditions in different localities of the city, besides hindering smooth flow of vehicular traffic.

Such dirty spots can be seen on streets which bifurcate I I Chundrigar Road with Dr Ziauddin Ahmed Road, opposite Gulzar Masjid; Federal B' Area (Block 2), Hussainabad, a portion of M A Jinnah Road near government girls secondary school, Jacoblines and a service road of Gulshan-i-Iqbal near Hassan Square.

The polluted environment, prevailing at these places on the one hand, had been causing hardship to pedestrians and, on the other, it presents an ugly look to passes bye.

People residing in apartment buildings, situated on the street which connects I I Chundrigar Road with Dr Ziauddin Road near Gulzar Masjid, complained that a major portion of their street is inundated with sewage for the last couple of days, but the KWSB officials have not yet taken measures to clear the choked sewerage lines.

During a visit to the street where a number of hotels and fast-food outlets have sprung up, one can see people having their food in a highly unhygienic condition prevailing there for the last couple of days owing to overflowing gutters.

A similar complaint has been received from residents of Federal B' Area's Block 2 Hussainabad. According to them, dirty water which had been overflowing from some choked gutters for the last fortnight, has spread to a major portion of their locality, near Memon Markaz.

An elderly person of the affected locality deplored that filthy water which is stranded there for the last two weeks has not only polluted the environment of their locality, but has become a permanent source of nuisance for residents.

"You can see people wading through the dirty stranded water," he added. Meanwhile, residents of Gulshan-i-Iqbal complained that although the dirty water often remains stagnant on a busy service road near Hassan Square, the officials concerned seem least bothered in rectifying the fault responsible for overflowing gutters. Heaps of garbage, dumped on a side of the service road, and overflowing gutters have created unhygienic conditions in the locality.