KARACHI: Prime Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Friday directed the local government department to work out a plan for the cleanliness of 555 storm sewers based on the same model adopted for Mehmoodabad and other nullahs.
“The cleanliness model of the Nullahs of Mehmoodabad and Gujjar was a complete package that not only removed interference, but also compensated those affected and built roads along the embankments of the Nullahs,” he said.
He added that this model would need to be replicated to ensure the cleanliness of 41 nullahs from Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) and 514 from district municipal corporations (DMCs) so that the urban flooding problem could be resolved once and for all.
He chaired a Provincial Coordination and Implementation Committee (PCIC) meeting here at CM House. Provincial ministers attended the meeting.
The meeting was informed that the anti-assault drive along Mehmoodabad Nullah had started on January 4, and 7.5 km of areas on both sides had been cleared and distributed 49 by 56 compensation controls.
The committee is reviewing the pace of interventions to remove encroachments along the city’s major storm sewers
Cleanliness costs Rs430m
The city commissioner told the meeting that the cleanliness work would cost around Rs 430 million, adding that the DMCs would use Rs 119 million from their own resources.
The prime minister instructed the LG minister to submit the request for the funds to be approved and released.
The NED Vice Chancellor informed the meeting that the entire drainage network of 39 drains was spread over a length of 229.12 km.
He said that he had already submitted a detailed survey report of the Manzoor Colony Outflow, the Gujjar Main Drain, the Orangi Main Drain, the Gujjar Drain Manifolds and the Manzoor Colony Manifolds, adding that the survey report was about the remaining 25 drains will be created.
The VC said the hub drain had 37 intercepting structures. He suggested increasing the width from 10 feet to 25 feet to accommodate the expected flow.
Similarly, he said the Essa Nagri drain had 68 interception structures and that it was necessary to widen its bed.
According to the VC, the Madina Colony’s drain had 103 interception structures, so it was decided to widen the drain and bed care.
The Mowach Goth Drain had 76 interception structures, Haroonabad 26 and Pitcher Nullah had 30 interception points.
The VC said the city of Saadi was flooded in the recent heavy rains when rainwater flooded the highway.
He proposed the construction of a nullah separate from the city of Saadi to divert water into the Lyari River.
The Prime Minister instructed the LG department to work out a detailed plan for restructuring the Nullahs as proposed by the NED VC.
3,957 structures are to be removed from Gujjar nullah
The meeting was told that 3,957 structures along the Gujjar nullah had to be removed according to a survey. The length of the nullah was 12.6 km, and between February 8 and February 18, the work on the elimination of soft encroachment was completed, and from February 19, a full encroachment action was carried out.
The Prime Minister was informed that of 3,957 compensation checks, 3,587 had been distributed among those affected and that the procedure to hand over the remaining checks was ongoing.
The meeting was informed that Orangi nullah in the West District was six kilometers long and up to 1,013 buildings along its embankments were identified as removed.
It was reported that gentle removal of surgery had been eliminated and full removal was to begin in March.
The meeting was informed that Orangi nullah was 1 mile (1.6 km) in Keamari District, where 193 structures had been removed and checks were distributed among those affected under the Resettlement Assistance Program.
Posted in Dawn on March 20, 2021
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