After Lahore, is Karachi next?

After the recent record-breaking rains in Lahore, which left much of the city flooded and killed six people; it is time to review our preparedness for erratic weather patterns that are becoming a regular feature due to climate change. Experts have warned that Karachi is even more ill equipped than Lahore to deal with heavy rainfall. Mohammad Younus of the Urban Resource Centre has warned that while Lahore was left inundated by 177 mm of rain, Karachi would not even be able to handle 100 mm.

Karachi’s population has almost doubled since 1998 owing to a number of factors, including the lack of development and opportunities in other parts of the country. Not unlike other Pakistani cities, Karachi has become a victim of rapid and unchecked urbanization. This combined with the weakness of the city’s civic authorities has left all of Karachi’s major storm-water drains encroached by various concrete structures, including housing colonies and commercial entities. A lack of a proper mechanism for collection of solid waste means that it ends up clogging drains designed for sewerage. In the past years, Karachi has been terribly affected whenever it rains. Considering that Karachi is the biggest contributor to Pakistan’s GDP, and hundreds of thousands are dependent on the urban centre for livelihoods, flooding needs to be addressed as a top priority.

The next government must craft a mechanism for regular clean-up of Karachi’s storm drains. One major contributor to this problem is the use of plastic bags, which choke up the sewage system leaving it incapable of performing during rains. 55 billion of these non-biodegradable bags are used annually in the country, meaning that this is a problem that has to be tackled at the federal level. Action must be taken before it is too late, leaving Karachi flooded, paralyzed and at the mercy of numerous water-borne diseases.

In the immediate term, the caretaker administration must take all possible steps to tackle the prospect of rains and flooding in Pakistan’s biggest urban centre.  *

Published in Daily Times, July 9th 2018.