KARACHI: As the monsoon season is just around the corner, City Administra­tor Barrister Murtaza Wahab on Saturday said that the cleaning and de-silting of 41 major storm drains in Karachi had been almost completed.

While visiting Jubilee Nullah, Garden Nullah, Soldier Bazaar Nullah and Regal Saddar Nullah, he said that work on major drains was in full swing.

“The District Municipal Corporations (DMCs) should clean the drains passing through their area, trying not to cause any inconvenience to the citizens in the rainy season,” he ordered.

Metropolitan Commissio­ner Afzal Zaidi, project director of the Sindh Solid Waste Management Board Zubair Channa, Deputy Commissioner-South Abdul Sattar and other officers were also present on the occasion.

Barrister Wahab, who is also the provincial government’s spokesman and chief minister adviser on law, also directed that all the personnel, machinery and other equipment related to the cleaning of drains should be kept in good condition.

“All action for storm water drainage should be taken under a joint strategy, all districts must make water drainage possible in their respective areas,” he added.

The administrator said that due to a better strategy last year, the citizens had to suffer less, expecting the same this year too. “In this monsoon season, there will be no water accumulation on the roads due to cleaning of drains and clearing of choking points,” he added.

He said that it would take some time for drainage after the onset of rains but rainwater would not be visible on the roads for many days like in the past.

He said that all available resources of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) and DMCs should be utilised for this purpose and if more machinery and pumps are required, they would also be provided.

He hoped that the presence of technical staff would make a big difference in the drainage works as compared to the past and coordination with various agencies would be done during the monsoon season.

Published in Dawn, June 19th, 2022