KMC yet to gear up cleaning of storm-water drains
MOHAMMAD BILAL TAHIR
KARACHI: The city’s roads and streets are at the risk of being flooded with rainwater in the ensuing monsoon as most of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation’s (KMC) machineries meant for cleaning storm-water drains are out of order.
According to sources, “KMC’s rusty, faulty and defective machineries are unable to carry out cleaning of drains ahead of monsoon.”
Sources said that a number of small and big storm-water drains are still filled with mud and garbage as the KMC has not yet begun their cleaning, besides it lacked plan in getting repaired its defective machinery. “In fact, KMC is awaiting financial assistance from Sindh government to undertake maintenance and repairing works of its worn out machineries which includes de-watering pumps, sludge emptying and nullah cleaning machineries,” the sources said, adding that the civic body was facing difficulties in making pre-monsoon arrangements as the contractors have stopped supplying fuel owing to non-payment of their outstanding bills.
“KMC’s concerned department’s inefficiency can be gauged from the fact that it failed to arrange funds in advance for the maintenance and purchase of machineries required for cleaning storm-water drains,” insiders told Business Recorder. KMC Municipal Services department’s director Ghulam Rasool confirmed that the department could not gear up its efforts in connection with the ensuing monsoon mainly to acute shortage of funds.
He said that Sindh government has not released the KMC’s monthly OZT (Octri Zila Tax) share for the month of April, besides Rs500 million under the head of grant-in-aid was also awaited. “We have already requested Sindh government to release funds so that repair and maintenance work of machines can be carried out before the start of monsoon season,” he added. He, however, claimed that the municipal services department has devised its strategy to meet eventualities of the upcoming monsoon season in city, saying that the department would utilise all means to ensure that rainwater did not remain accumulated on roads.
