RECORDER REPORT

KARACHI: The first monsoon cloudburst has virtually left trade and business activities into a complete suspension, inflicting at least a colossal loss of Rs6 billion on business community in this port city.

The traders blame the KMC and Sindh government for the chaotic conditions in the wake of rains that plagued the entire city’s business activities, as markets wore a deserted look with 70 percent shops closed. They said that floating filth on market’s streets and accumulated rainwater on roads compelled the customers to stay away.

“The city stands totally ungoverned as none from the Sindh/city governments is willing to register the public complaints and solve their rain-related problems,” Chairman Sindh Tajir Ittehad, Atiq Mir told Business Recorder on Friday, accusing the authorities of Rs6 billion loss caused to business community.

He said that the rainwater flooded into markets also damaged goods worth millions of rupees since the government’s concerned departments failed to respond to the civic emergency with the overnight cloudburst. “The government doest not have resources and personnel to meet rain emergency that eventually grew almost into a natural calamity,” Mir said.

Customers are not ready to visit markets due to dirty, broken and plunged roads, he said, adding that over 100 business centres are located on M. A. Jinnah Road in the old city area. Markets located in the downward parts of the metropolis are more vulnerable to the flooding. The rain holds back trade from a full post-Eid start, as markets remained partially open.

The Met Office has forecast rain-thundershowers with gusty winds that are expected at isolated places in Mirpurkhas, Hazara, Rosalinda, Gujranwala Divisions, FATA, Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir. Hot and humid weather is expected in other parts of the country in the next 24 hours.

According to the Met, maximum rainfall was recorded in Karachi’s different observatories including: North Karachi 62 mm, Saddar 59 mm, Faisal Base 56 mm, Masroor Base and Nazimabad 51 mm, each, Gulshan-e-Hadid 49 mm, Model Observatory 39 mm, Airport Old Observatory 35 mm and New Observatory 26 mm and Landhi 22 mm during the last 24 hours.

In other districts of Sindh, Diplo in Tharparkar received 70 mm, Badin 52 mm, Thatta 40 mm, Nangarparkar (Thar) 24 mm, Chhor 22 mm, Mithi (Thar) 17 mm, Hyderabad 12 mm and Mirpurkhas 8 mm.

In Punjab: Murree 58 mm, Sialkot City 34 mm and Gujrat 9 mm. In Khyber Pukhtunkhwa: Malamjabba 8 mm.