• Cyclonic storm forming over northeast Arabian Sea
• CM directs authorities to do all preparations to deal with emergencies
• 35mm of rainfall recorded in Gulshan-i-Hadeed
• City’s roads have already been destroyed, says JI leader

KARACHI: People in the city were on edge on Thursday as the Met office warned of a potential cyclonic storm forming in the Arabian Sea when the metropolis was already bracing for heavy rains under the ongoing monsoon system.

The situation also put the city administration on toes to keep things under control after it faced strong criticism from the opposition parties which claimed that current downpour had “exposed” Mayor Murtaza Wahab and his performance.

The Met office said that a cyclonic storm was expected to form over northeast Arabian Sea along Sindh coast on early Friday morning, causing widespread torrential rains across the province till Aug 31. The Met officials have described the formation of the cyclone in the monsoon season as a ‘rare phenomenon’.

Rainfall data

According to the Met department’s total rainfall data for Aug 29 from 11am till 8pm, the maximum rainfall was recorded in Gulshan-i-Hadeed 35mm followed by Surjani Town 30mm, Quaidabad 25mm, Korangi 15.7mm and Met Complex (University Road) 15mm.

Data of other areas: Nazimabad 7.2mm, Keamari 10mm, old airport area 15mm, Jinnah Terminal 16mm, PAF Faisal Base 13mm, Masroor Base 5.5mm, North Karachi 7.5mm, Orangi town 5.7mm, DHA Phase 7.5mm and Gulshan-i-Maymar 9.3mm.

Sindh chief minister Syed Murad Ali Shah was the first to react and issue directives to all civic departments and institutions, especially administration and local bodies, to be more vigilant and active in view of cyclone alert.

In a statement, he said that all necessary preparations should be completed to deal with emergency situations and all relevant departments and hospital should ensure the attendance of their respective staff. The chief minister instructed all the hospitals of the province to improve their arrangements to meet any emergency.

He also directed the fisheries department to issue instruction to the fishermen in view of the unusual situation in the sea. The chief minister also ordered the irrigation department to keep monitoring the dams of rivers, canals and other water passages.

Meanwhile, Karachi Commissioner directed all deputy commissioners, town administrations and other civic agencies to remain alert and monitor the situation to take necessary actions to deal with the monsoon rains.

He directed the officials concerned to stay in the field and keep their live locations on. He also directed all the DCs, assistant commissioners, town administrations’ municipal commissioners, and other relevant agencies to implement their contingency plans to combat the rain emergencies and ensure that measures for drainage of rain water and arrangements for relief work were completed.

Meanwhile, Mayor Wahab in a message asked people to “avoid unnecessary movement”, amid warning of heavy rains. “It’s been raining for last three days and in the next few hours, it’s expected that there will be heavier rainfall with strong winds. I would urge the residents of Karachi, especially bike riders, to avoid unnecessary movement. Stay safe everyone, and in case of any emergency call 1339,” he posted on X [formerly Twitter] in the evening.

Although the mayor kept updating about his performance and the job being done by the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) during the rain, he failed to convince the rival parties who questioned the utility of the civic bodies which couldn’t cope up with the challenge despite early warning by the Met office.

Saifuddin Advocate, the leader of the Opposition in the City council, said the rain and the situation that unfolded after that have badly exposed the “corruption and mismanagement” on part of the Pakistan People Party government in Sindh as well as the KMC.

Reacting to the current situation in the city, the JI leader said that the adamant city mayor needs to realise that Karachi is a mega city and not limited to the road between his office and his residence in a posh locality.

In a statement, he added that it seems that the mayor considers a portion of the city as whole Karachi as he always claims that “all is okay” in the megalopolis. During recent rains, large swaths of roads have vanished and the roads look like ruins, he said, adding that even a small amount of rain caused havoc in the city.

Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) also criticised the city administration and PPP government, saying that the performance of the provincial ministers and Karachi mayor was limited to photo sessions and social media updates.

“It would be much better for the Sindh ministers and Karachi to stop portraying Karachi as clean and modern like London and Paris while making videos from their air-conditioned vehicles worth millions of rupees,” the party said in a statement.

“The rain was consistent but it wasn’t heavy like past. Still, it exposed the performance of mayor who has illegally occupied the office. The pleasant weather of monsoon and rains have become a nightmare for Karachiites.”

Similar reaction came from the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Karachi president Raja Azhar who said that the recent rains in Karachi came as “another stamp over PPP’s incompetence and corruption.

“From a street to major thoroughfare, no road is safe. The infrastructure was already in shambles and the fresh rains have further ruined it,” he said.

Published in Dawn, August 30th, 2024