Sindh CM orders reconstruction of Old City area's sewerage lines

KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Monday directed the Karachi Water & Sewerage Board (KWSB) to reconstruct the old drainage lines in the metropolis' 'red zone' and prepare a plan to replace other dilapidated ones with new ones.

The chief minister directed the KWSB to restore the sewerage line's collapsed portion within 24 hours and advised the minister for local government to replace the old lines from Club Road and Raja Ghazanfar Ali Road up to the pumping station on Beaumont Road in Clifton.

Shah's directives came consequent to the collapse Monday morning of a 66-inch sewerage line, laid in 1956 at Club Road in District South, whereafter a truck reportedly fell into it, worsening it further and leading the gutters feeding the line in Saddar area to overflow.

Millions of rupees in reconstruction

The sewerage line caving in only worsened the conditions in the locality where, earlier, an underground gutter line in front of the Chief Minister House had sunk in, creating a pothole several foot-wide — similar to the one that recently opened up at Club Road.

That had cost millions of rupees in reconstruction later.

Further, sewerage water had stagnated for several days on Raja Ghazanfar Ali Road, as well as the portion from Abdullah Haroon Road to Shahrah-e-Faisal and in front of Governor House, with the Karachi Cantontment Board officials seemingly doing nothing for the city that powers Pakistan's entire economy.

Following the latest ditch near the abandoned Metropole Hotel, police closed off Club Road for the traffic.

Rs88m already released to three DMCs

Speaking to Geo News, the KWSB's managing director, Asadullah Khan said the situation had deteriorated after rains a few months ago wreaked havoc on the city. However, reconstruction work was initiated immediately whenever a sewerage line sunk in, he added.

A press release issued Monday by the CM House stated that Shah advised Asadullah Khan to prepare a detailed scheme to replace all the old sewerage lines with new ones in the old city areas of Pakistan's southern port city.

The CM noted that it had taken a number of days in rehabilitation the last time a 66-inch sewerage line had collapsed on Dr Ziauddin Road near the CM House. With another one at Club Road sinking in now, it would again cause serious problems for smooth traffic flow, the chief minister said, and, therefore, new lines should be laid to improve the drainage system.

Shah also sought a report from the secretary for the local government about the repair of out-of-order or broken-down vehicles of the district municipal corporations (DMCs), stressing that the government had October 14, 2019, already released a sum worth Rs88 million to three DMCs, including Districts Korangi, West, and Central, as well as the District Council.

City's cleanliness be made sustainable 

The Sindh CM, with regard to the ongoing issue as well as prior sunken drainage lines, said he was driven to make Karachi's cleanliness sustainable.

Shah said he was sure that the concerned DMCs would play their due role and keep their districts neat and clean and directed the local government secretary to issue necessary instructions to all the local bodies operating in Sindh to maintain cleanliness in their areas.

In case of backlog, the chief minister directed district municipal committees, corporations, and district councils to launch special drives.