Pakistan: Monsoon rains ruined Karachi, concedes Sindh government

Karachi: The Sindh Government has conceded that the recent torrential monsoon rains in Karachi have ruined its civic and municipal infrastructure however it has expressed it will do its best to revive its past glory as being the “City of lights” in the region.

Sindh Local Government Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah said that recent torrential rains in Karachi had emerged as a natural calamity as it adversely affected the entire municipal system and infrastructure of the city. He issued this statement as sinkholes appeared on different main roads of the city depicting the ruined state of its drainage system after record rainfall in Karachi on August 27th. One such sinkhole appeared on the busy PIDC traffic intersection in the downtown city that is a few yards away from Sindh Chief Minister House.

Shah said that a large number of people were affected due to heavy monsoon downpour as several of them were deprived of their precious belongings.

He said that the Sindh government had remained steadfast during this entire rain emergency so to render maximum help to the people in distress. He said that Sindh chief minister had issued directives to the officials concerned to do assessment of the property damages due to the heavy rains in the province so to compensate material losses of the people.

He said that the provincial government would not take a sigh of relief till the time all the affected families were provided with utmost assistance for their restoration as for the purpose every possible effort is being made.

He also appealed to the Opposition political parties in the province to play an active role for the revival of Karachi so that this difficult time was over soon.

A day earlier, Sindh CM Syed Murad Ali Shah also presided over a meeting and directed the officials concerned that all the civic agencies of his government should do work to ensure drainage from every part of Karachi on emergency basis after heavy rains without any discrimination and without considering that which of the land-owning agency is responsible for any locality in the city.

The Sindh CM gave these directives in the context that a large part of Karachi is under control of federal land-owning agencies like cantonments where Sindh government has no role.

The Sindh government has been providing assistance to ensure emergency drainage in the posh Defence Housing Authority neighbourhood of Karachi.