Sindh CM: I waded through the floods
Shah had to abandon his vehicle on the road during emergency tour of city
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said that Thursday’s record torrential rain in Karachi even threatened his own safety. While on an emergency visit of the city at night, he had to abandon his vehicle on the flooded Aiwane-Saddar Road after it was submerged in rainwater.
“The water level reached around my back as I waded through it to come out of the water as other vehicles were called to return,” said Shah while speaking about the widespread devastation caused by maximum 230 millimetres of rain in Karachi in the span of 24 hours. Till yesterday afternoon, a number of residential localities were still inundated as prolonged failure of electric supply lasting up to 40 hours which was another major cause of trouble for citizens in the city. “Never before there was so much rain in the entire city and the blocked drains made it worse”, said Shah.
Out of control
“So was our confidence shaken as before this rain, we were confident that we would be able to control the situation but this rainfall has made us realise that we have to do much more to this city,” he added.
He said that all the encroachments on storm water drains of Karachi would be demolished to restore them to their original capacity to carry flood waters after torrential rains.
He could not visit the famous Nursery road intersection on Sharea Faisal on Thursday night as the area had extreme flooding. “The next day I visited Nursery area at 10am after the rainwater was drained. A shopkeeper there showed me that flood water level was till the signboard of his shop that was 12 feet high,” he said.
“The situation was even worse in the posh and expensive areas of the city but people living there have the ability to stand again on their own feet but we will surely resolve infrastructure issues of their localities,” he continued, adding that his government would help the deprived settlements in the city devastated by the heavy rains.
Shah visited the shanty settlement of Yousuf Goth in suburban area of District West of Karachi. “There was so much water as people there were very much concerned. I promised with them that once the situation gets normal after drainage of rainwater, a drainage scheme for the area will be constructed under my own supervision so that such a situation doesn’t occur again,” he said.