Daily Times

KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah has said that he has released Rs 476 million for de-silting of all the 30 drains of the city but emergent cleansing work started on four drains should not be stopped during the eid holidays.

He said, “There must be red-alert in local government to pump out rain water during the on-going pre-monsoon season.”

He said this while presiding over meeting regarding rain emergency in the metropolis.

The meeting was attended by Local Government Minister Jam Khan Shoro, Sindh Chief Secretary Siddique Memon, Sindh Member Board of Revenue, Rizwan Memon, Commissioner Karachi, Aijaz Khan, Local Government Secretary Baqaullah Unar, PDMA Secretary Saeed Awan, Administrator Karachi, Laiq Ahmed, and PDMA DG Syed Salman Shah.

Local Government Minister Jam Khan Shoro along with KMC administrator, all DMC administrators, city commissioner and deputy commissioners were on the roads. He said that there were some choking points at Shahrah-e-Faisal, University Road, in central district where rainwater could not flow smoothly.

He said that de-silting work on four drains, Orangi, Gujjar, Chokar and kalri has been started. “Work on other 26 drains would be started just after eid and this de-silting work would continue till next six months to clean them completely”, he said. The Sindh chief minister directed the local government minister to work out detailed plan to remove encroachment on and along the nalas.

Jam Khan Shoro said that when the rain started yesterday, the K-Electric feeders tripped suddenly that the motors and other electrical installations at pumping station at Dhanbeji and Pipri were badly damaged. A pumping station at Pipri has been restored but work at Dhabeji pumping station is still in progress.

The chief minister said that there were reports that water was stagnant on the roads and have accumulated in depressions in city areas. He said, “The DMCs have been given enough funds to hire generators to pump out rain water.” He said that every DMC was provided with Rs 10 million for cleansing drains of their area and other expenditures. He asked the local government minister to personally inspect their work.

The chief minister also noticed that prolonged power failure in the city caused serious problems in the city. He said, “I had held a meeting with K-Electric authorities and they had informed to have upgraded their transmission and distribution system. If their system was upgraded then how this prolonged power failure occurred during a first shower in the city”, he questioned and directed Energy secretary to talk to K-Electric and urged them to keep their system maintained.

The local government minister informed the Sindh chief minister that after the permission of Water and Power Ministry, about 25 MGD water had been pumped out of Hub Dam and the same water is being provided to district West and other areas of the metropolis.