CM Shah orders removal of encroachment from rain water drains

KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah directed the Irrigation Department, all Commissioners and the City and District administrations to take emergent measures to effectively deal with heavy rains expected from next Monday to Thursday, which may turn into flash floods.

The Chief Minister was presiding over a meeting to review the arrangements in the light of fresh weather forecast released here Saturday, said an official statement.

The meeting was attended by Chief Secretary Siddique Memon, Principal secretary to CM, Alamuddin Bullo, Commissioner Karachi Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui, Secretary Finance Sohail Rajput, Deputy Commissioners of different districts of the city and other concerned officers.

The Chief Secretary reading the fresh forecast released by the Met department said that from next Monday to Thursday heavy rains were expected.

"The Met department has requested all the concerned departments to take necessary emergent measures because the heavy rains can turn into flash floods," he said.

Qaim said that he had visited major storm-water drains and found that illegal public settlements and encroachments have emerged inside and along the nullas (drains).

"How these nullas could be cleansed in such state of encroachment," he questioned.

He directed Commissioner Karachi Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui to conduct a survey of illegal public settlements inside and along the storm water drains and suggest measure to remove them.

"We are left with two options either to remove public settlements from nullas or let the citizens be flooded. The clear and loud decision is to remove illegal encroachment from the nullas," he said and added this must be done within 15 days.

Principal Secretary to CM informed the Chief Minister that he had received flood situation report from the Irrigation Department.

According to the report, upstream discharge at Guddu Barrage is 499,910 cusecs and 479,018 cusecs downstream discharge. This is a medium flood. Sukkur Barrage upstream discharge is 366,500 and downstream 325,130 cusecs.

It is also a medium flood while at Kotri Barrage upstream is 144,170 cusecs and downstream 129,645 cusecs. It is normal," he said.

Mr Bullo told the chief minister that the Irrigation department was expecting that upstream Guddu Barrage discharge would between 505,000 to 535,000 cusecs on July 26.

The Chief Minister directed the Chief Secretary to make all the district and the city administrations, irrigation and water and sewerage boards alert and take precautionary measures to face heavy rains starting from Monday.

He also directed PPP divisional and district leadership all over Sindh to mobilise party workers to help people in case of heavy rains. --APP