Ill-prepared city suffers again as rain returns

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Spells of moderate rain in Karachi on Wednesday resulted in another death due to electrocution and caused serious troubles to the people as many roads turned into canals and several areas plunged into darkness as K-Electric (KE) shut down scores of feeders in the city as a ‘preventive measure’ against electrocution incidents.The showers occurred under the influence of the monsoon system that has hit the city three times since July, said officials of the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) and rescue organisations.The first spell of the rain under the influence of a low pressure area from the Bay of Bengal started at around 2pm in the afternoon in North Karachi. The spell was short but strong and it turned roads into canals in the areas of North Karachi, North Nazimabad, Gulshan-e-Maymar, Sohrab Goth and their adjoining areas where rainwater accumulated on roads and open places.A youth was reportedly electrocuted in the North Nazimabad area of the city at his residence when he tried to run an electrical suction pump at his residence during the rain.PMD officials said under the influence of a low pressure area that entered into southeast Sindh from the neighbouring Indian state of Gujrat, rains were caused in Tharparkar, Tando Jam, Mirpurkhas and Hyderabad and on Wednesday afternoon, it caused several intermittent showers in the northern and central parts of Karachi.“During the first spell of the rain on Wednesday afternoon, North Karachi and North Nazimabad areas received the highest amount of rainfall,” said Anjum Zaigham, an official of the PMD, while talking to media persons.The official added that 32, 28 and 20 millimeters (mm) of rain was recorded in North Karachi, North Nazimabad and University Road/ Jauhar observatory respectively. Interestingly, some areas of the city did not receive even a single drop of rain on Wednesday afternoon, the PMD official said, adding that after August 15, the behaviour of monsoon lows had become somewhat unpredictable.The second spell of rain in the city started at around 9pm with thunderstorms in the northern parts of the city and till the filing of this story, around 30 mm of rain had been recorded in the Gulistan-e-Jauhar and adjoining areas within 30 minutes, according to PMD officials. The Met Office experts have also predicted that intermittent rain would continue till Thursday night or Friday morning.Electrocution incidentA 30-year-old man, who was later identified as Riaz, son of Amin Khan, died of electrocution at a house located near the Farooq-e-Azam Masjid in North Nazimabad within the limits of the Hyderi police station.The man was shifted to Abbassi Shaheed Hospital where doctors pronounced him dead, police officials said, adding that he died of electrocution while he was trying to operate a water suction machine at his house. The body was later handed over to the family.Power situationAs the rain spell started, the KE stopped power supply to a large number of areas to prevent electrocution incidents. Power had not been restored to many localities till the filing of this report.The power utility also issued a statement, in which it claimed that the power supply was temporarily switched off in a few low-lying areas including Orangi, Korangi, Gadap, Baldia and Surjani Town as well as in the areas where there was a high number of Kundas, in the interest of public safety.A KE spokesperson said, “KE teams remained active and ready to respond swiftly to any localised faults or complaints to ensure stability of the entire system. Electricity supply to some areas has been temporarily suspended due to the risk of urban flooding.”The power utility maintained that supply of electricity to strategic installations such as the Karachi Water & Sewerage Board installations, the airport and key hospitals remained uninterrupted. It also urged its customers to act with caution during the rain and avoid touching electric poles or power infrastructure.Commenting on the electrocution death, the KE said it was an unfortunate incident that occurred inside a house. “In light of expected rains, K-Electric again cautions people to use internal equipment safely as safety is everyone's responsibility,” the power utility said.“In case of any complaints, customers can get in touch with call centres at 118 or through SMS to 8119 as well as via social media forums or through the KE Live app.”Roads inundatedAs if the last two spells of rain had not played havoc with Karachi already, after the intermittent rainfall on Wednesday, rainwater and sewage inundated the roads in different parts of the city.Two to three feet deep water submerged the roads from Nagan Chowrangi to the Power House roundabout in the North Karachi neighbourhood after the first spell. According to District Central Chairman Rehan Hashmi, however, all the water was cleared away within a few hours.Even in the New Karachi area, water submerged all the main roads and internal streets. All of the huge ditches on Anda Morr Road were filled with rainwater and sewage. According to a local, Arsalan Ali, the rain fell heavily but only briefly. “We don’t know why so much water accumulated on the roads,” he said, adding that the gutters were already overflowing in the entire area and may have worsened the situation.Meanwhile, the gutters started overflowing at UP Morr and the Saleem Centre, worsening the situation in the area. Motorists also ran into different troubles due to the water that submerged the streets in different areas. Some cars broke down in North Karachi and other areas after the rain.Hashmi told The News that their teams immediately cleared the choking points at Nagan Chowrangi and in few other areas after the rain. No official of the Karachi Water & Sewerage Board was available for comment.The situation was better in District South’s Saddar area, but some parts of the roads remained submerged until late at night, causing traffic jams in their respective vicinities. There were also reports of rainwater accumulating in the areas of Gulshan-e-Iqbal and Gulistan-e-Jauhar in District East.Karachi Mayor Wasim Akhtar declared an emergency at the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) after the third spell of the monsoon rain started on Wednesday. The municipal department of the KMC, the parks department, the fire brigade and the health department have been told to remain alert. He also cancelled leave of all the relevant officers.Mayor on GeoIn a special transmission on Geo News, the mayor said that garbage removal is not his but the district municipal corporations’ responsibility. He said that only 100 sweepers are under him who clean Sharea Faisal and a few other areas. He added that he has cleared the city’s drains twice after he became the mayor.Regarding the appointment and removal of Pak Sarzameen Party Chairman Mustafa Kamal as project director garbage, Akhtar said the former mayor had been appointed to clean the city in 90 days and not for an audit, adding that the National Accountability Bureau was already investigating the KMC.Private schools closedPeak Private Schools Association Chairman Haider Ali announced that private schools will remain closed on Thursday (today) due to heavy rain in the city. The decision has been in the interest of students to avoid difficulties, he said.

from The News International - Karachi https://ift.tt/2L16vRL
The News International - Karachi