KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah censured the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) and other civic departments on Saturday over their poor performance during torrential rains in Karachi.
Presiding over a meeting to review the overall post-rainfall situation in Sindh at the CM House, Murad Ali Shah 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.
He ordered that routes of the Muharram processions should be cleared immediately and directed the concerned authorities to drain the water in areas still flooded in the metropolis.
“Why are several areas in the southern district still submerged in water?” he asked.
The CM said that 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 clean-up should be made to wear specific jackets so that the public knows that the government is working,” he said.
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 get 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 is 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 the 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, which is why temporary staff should be hired to move the cleaning process along.
Mirpur Khas commissioner told the chief minister that more than 80pc of the crops had been destroyed in Mirpur Khas and Tharparkar due to the recent rains, while water was yet to be drained from Mithi, Islamkot and other areas.