THE decision to call in Pakistan Army to help the civil administration in managing the situation arising out of urban flooding in Karachi is most appropriate and appreciable in the prevailing circumstances. According to Sindh Governor Imran Ismail under the mandate given by Prime Minister Imran Khan, the Pakistan Army, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and Frontier Works Organization (FWO) will work together to give relief to the residents of the city in view of their hardships during the recent monsoon rain spells and also due to unattended municipal waste in the city.
Urban flooding has played havoc with the normal life in Karachi as almost the entire city has been turned into a virtual pond, creating not only obstacles in the way of daily routines but also posing grave health risks to the citizens. The Meteorological Department had issued timely warning about flooding due to monsoon rains but unfortunately these were not heeded to and as a consequence the situation became unmanageable with the choking of the drainage system. The problem has been compounded by heaps of waste that one witnesses in each and every corner of the city. Irked over heaps of garbage in Central district and choked drains that led to severe inundation of the city’s roads, Sindh High Court, while hearing a case related to the port city’s sewage and drainage system pointed out that the entire city was flooded owing to rampant illegal construction and indisposed heaps of garbage. The true picture of the city was reflected in the remarks of SHC judge Khadim Hussain Shaikh who questioned if anyone had seen the cars floating in the rainwater, how people’s belongings got destroyed as their homes were flooded and how they were unable to rescue their children from flooded homes.
In this backdrop, the decision to send Army to undertake relief work assumes significance as the situation would have deteriorated further due to slaughter of animals on the occasion of Eidul Azha as disposal of offals becomes an issue every year. The Pakistan Army, NDMA and FWO, with necessary resources (in men and material) at their disposal, might be able to restore the normal life in the city at the earliest but in the long run the situation would not change for the common man until and unless a workable plan is formulated and implemented for management of city’s unattended waste. We have witnessed in the past that efforts of the provincial government and even involvement of Bahria Town have not made any significant difference in this regard. Therefore, shunning politics over problems of the people, the Federal Government should extend a helping hand to the province in finding a permanent and durable solution to the real issue of disposal of municipal waste. The Prime Minister has already declared that the Federal Government would not leave people of Karachi in the lurch and, therefore, it should step in to provide permanent relief to the residents of the city of the Quaid.
