Shah orders Secretary Finance to release Rs5m to each deputy commissioner of Karachi, Hyderabad and Mirpurkhas division for disposal
of rain water
KARACHI - Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has mobilised water board and KMC to help Cantonment Board Clifton (CBC) to dewater defence housing authority area and remove water from K-Electric sub-stations. He took the decision on Saturday after visiting DHA and KE head office and CBC office. The CM went to KE head office where KE CEO Monis Alvi received him and briefed him about the power supply in the city. He said that out of 1900 feeders 1532 feeders have been restored. The DHA area has 60 feeders, of them 50 percent have been restored but 50 percent yet to be restored.
The Chief Minister, while presiding over a meeting to review the overall post-rainfall situation in Sindh at CM House, said roads via which the Muharram procession would pass should be cleared post haste.
Directing the concerned authorities to drain the water in areas still flooded in the metropolis, the Chief Minister questioned why several areas in the southern district were still submerged in water.
Turning to KMC, the Chief Minister asked why KMC’s Urban Disaster Response Unit was not at the forefront in cleaning up the city after the heavy downpour. “KMC’s Urban Disaster Response Unit does not appear to be active. Those involved in the cleanup should be made to wear specific jackets so that the public knows that the government is working,” he said.
He also directed the concerned departments to pinpoint areas where the flow of water could be stopped. “If any building is obstructing the flow of water, bulldoze it whether it is public or private. We have to fix the city no matter how drastic the measures we have to take,” Shah noted. The Chief Minister also directed senior Board of Revenue members to survey all the districts and to take note of them. He also directed all the district commissioners to ensure their areas were cleaned, especially drains which got choked due to garbage.
“Drains get cleaned because of the flow of water but plastic bags and mud chokes it,” he noted.
Speaking about the power woes of the city, Shah said that power was yet to be restored in several areas in the city. “170 KE feeders out of 1,900 are yet to be restored,” he added. Briefing the meeting, the Deputy Commissioner said there was an issue of garbage collection in the Central district. “We cleaned all the areas in the Central district. All the drains in Southern district were cleaned as well,” he added. He added that low-lying areas were still flooded as all the nullahs were emptied in the Southern district, which takes time to drain.
To this, the Chief Minister said he was aware there was not enough staff, that was why temporary staff should be hired to move the cleaning process along.
Commissioner Mirpur Khas told the Chief Minister that more than 80% of the crops had been destroyed in Mirpurkhas and Tharparkar due to the recent rains, while water was yet to be drained from Mithi, Islamkot and other areas.
The Chief Minister told the media that he would get the entire city cleared from accumulated water before the rainfall of the sixth spell.
He told media that he had declared all six districts of Karachi division, Hyderabad division and three districts of Mirpurkhas division and two districts of Shaheed Benazirabad division as calamity hit areas. “The government just after issuance of notification would start relief work in the calamity hit areas,” he said.
CM orders survey of damages to infrastructure, houses, crops
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah released Rs5 million to each deputy commissioner of Karachi, Hyderabad and Mirpurkhas divisions for dewatering rain water and other similar works.
Sindh Chief Minister has directed Planning and Development department and revenue boards to conduct a survey of the damages caused to the infrastructure, homes and crops after heavy rain so that rehabilitation of road network and compensation could be awarded for the damaged houses.
He expressed these views on Saturday while presiding over a meeting to review post-rainfall situation in all the districts, including Karachi here at the CM House, said a statement.
The meeting was attended by Minister Revenue Makhdoom Mahboob, Chief Secretary Mumtaz Shah, Chairman P&D M. Waseem, SMBR Qazi Shahid Parvez, PSCM Sajid Jamal Abro, Commissioner Karachi Sohail Rajput and all deputy commissioners of Karachi division.
The divisional commissioners of other divisions of the province attended the meeting through video link.
The Chief Minister said that the heavy rains had damaged the road network in Karachi, therefore just after the next spell the repair work must be started.
He directed chairman P&D to call PD Karachi project Khalid Masroor and asked him to start repair work.
“I have directed all the deputy commissioners of the city to conduct a survey of the damaged road, nullahs, streets, gutters and submit the same to chairman P&D for necessary estimates and approval so that work could be started,” he said. The Chief Minister said that almost all the major roads in the city have been cleaned but the deputy commissioners were facing shortage of workers and manpower to get the streets cleaned.
He directed Secretary Finance to release Rs5 million to each deputy commissioner of Karachi, Hyderabad and Mirpurkhas division for disposal of rain water, and other smaller works.
To a question, Commissioner Karachi Sohail Rajput told the Chief Minister that the route of Muharram procession had been cleared but there was ample water accumulated at Tower.
The Chief Minister directed the Commissioner to depute special workers teams and get the entire route of the procession cleared.
The CM was told that almost all the main arteries of the city had been cleared, except the streets, villages and localities established along the embankments of Gujar Nalla, Malir River and Sukkun River.
Shah was told the West district had six sub-divisions whee properties had been damaged in Gulshan-e-Ghazi, Block-6, Mominabad, Surjani, Dil Murad Mohalla, Rahimdad Goth, Sindhi Para, Bangali Para, Bismillah colony, Juma Shah Goth, Dehhalkani, Zodo Goth and Juma Goth which had been addressed to some extent.
The DC said that houses in Zodo Goth and Juma Goth submerged.
The Chief Minister directed the DC to conduct a survey of the damages and submit them in the P&D and SMBR office.
DC central Sohail Odho told the Chief Minister that the roads damaged in his district, included Sher Shah Suri Road to Golimar, Shershah Noor Jehan Road, Shahrah-e-Pakistan to Teen Hatti to Sohrab Goth, water pump road to peoples chowrangi and Mianwali Link Road, Luckyone to Anda Mor, roads around Nagan Chowrangi, KDA Chowrangi, Ziauddin Chowrangi, Sakhi Hassan Chowrangi, 4k Chowrangi, Power house Chowrangi, Karimabad Chowrangi, Landi Kotal, New Karachi 7000/9000 nalla road, Allah wali, Nala Stop, three underpasses road in Liaquatabad, Nazimabad, sub-division and others had been damaged due to urban flooding caused by heavy rains.
DC South Irash Sodhar told the CM that all the major nullas discharged in the sea in the South district, therefore the water which accumulated in the South area was disposed of with difficulty.
He said that some areas of Bath Island, Gulshan-i-Faisal and some blocks of the Clifton had some water in their low lying areas, otherwise the main arteries of the district had been cleared.
The Chief Minister directed DC South to clear all the areas and conduct a survey of the damaged roads and submit a detailed report to the chairman P&D.
DC Korangi Shaharyar told the CM that the nullah at a collage on Ibrahim Hyderi road had encroachments where college administration had constructed car parking. Otherwise, Korangi and Landhi had been cleared.
The Chief Minister was told that some streets had water which was being cleared.