WHENEVER there is some heavy rain, especially in the mon soon season, it brings miseries to our people.
Reasons are multiple. But most prominent amongst them are the illegal construction on the banks of nullahs and lack of preparedness on the part of the authorities concerned.
Monsoon downpours in the wee hours of Wednesday wreaked havoc especially in E-11 sector of the federal capital where water entered the houses and several cars were swept away by the floodwater. Two persons also reportedly died as the water deluged their house.
E-11, located in the heart of the city, is dotted with unauthorized high-rise buildings and several illegal cooperative housing schemes.
However, no serious action has ever been taken against them by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) and District Administration, which deal with such housing schemes.
Illegal constructions by the housing schemes and other owners have narrowed down nullahs that cross through the sector.
Before there is a big tragedy in this sector due to rains, the authorities concerned must move against the illegal constructions, rejecting any sort of pressure as it is the matter of life and properties of the people.
Timely cleaning of nullahs must be ensured. The situation is not very different in neighbouring Rawalpindi where people have almost built their houses on the Nullah Lei.
Despite repeated promises especially under the present government, there appears to be no progress on the construction of Nullah Lei expressway project, which is of immense importance not only to address the traffic problems of the twin cities but also to protect the people from flooding.
We therefore will suggest the Punjab government to remove all the obstacles in the early execution of the project.
It, however, must be ensured that those residing along the Nullah Lei are duly compensated.
The situation becomes quite serious in Karachi during monsoon season due to choking of nullahs.
Of late, the Sindh government has been seen working seriously towards cleaning of nullahs, yet the work towards removing illegal structures along the nullahs must also be accelerated. There is also a clear judgment of the Supreme Court on the matter.
Federal and provincial governments must work out a comprehensive plan envisaging construction of small dams and reservoirs in different districts to preserve the rain flood which we are currently losing to the sea.
