KARACHI - At least 15 people died in several rain-related incidents in Karachi and Hyderabad while Karachiites faced great difficulties during the rain due to poor municipal system and power breakdowns.
As per details, the first incident was reported in wee hours at around 2am from Malir Bakra Peeri area where a 17-year-old boy, identified as Salman, died after receiving an electric shock. Similar incidents of electrocution were also reported from other parts of the city: 12-year-old Sana died in Gulshan-e-Maymar, 18-year-old Faisal in Korangi, 22-year-old Jalal in Federal B Area, 25-year-old Abbas in Gulistan-e-Johar, 25-year-old Inayat in Hussainabad, 40-year-old Haider Ali in Orangi Town and two unidentified people in their mid 30s and 40s in Nayaabad and New Karachi.
SHO Amjad Anwar of Darakhshan police station said 17-year-old Osama died after he fell from the third floor of a building on Khayaban-e-Ittehad. Two incidents of roof and wall collapse were also reported from Baldia Town in North Karachi.
According to an Edhi centre, 32-year-old Jaweria died after a portion of her house roof caved in on her in Qaimkhani Colony, Baldia. An elderly person, Hamd Ali, also died in a similar incident in North Karachi. Later, in the evening, a guy, Babar Ali, said to be the nephew of Sindh Assembly member Sajid Jokhio, drowned in the Malir River.
Moreover, the rain once again exposed the inept and poor administration in the metropolis where millions of citizens faced many problems, especially power interruption due to failure of unreliable Karachi-Electric to take precautionary measures.
Many roads and streets went inundated in gutter-mixed rainwater and a large number of vehicles, particularly motorbikes, were stranded in the water. Public transport like minibuses mostly remained off-road, compelling philanthropist organizations to arrange commuting services for the Karachiites.
The accumulated rainwater on roads and streets irked the citizens. Shahrah-e-Jamia was amongst the most affected arteries of the city. It was inundated from Safoora Chowrangi to Mosimiat Chorawagi, in front of Karachi University, near Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science and Technology and at Hassan Square, exposing the performance of the civic agencies concerned. Even the very key street behind Sindh Secretariat and Tughlaq House Building was inundated in knee-deep gutter-mixed rainwater.
The rainfall also exposed the performance of K-Electric as many parts of the city plunged into darkness and many localities had to face prolonged power outages.
During the Friday shower, some 400 power feeders out of more than 1,500 in KE’s power supply system tripped while an extra high–tension power supply line also tripped, plunging at least 50 percent area of the city into darkness.
A KE spokesperson said around 125 tripped feeders were brought back on line while KE teams were busy restoring the rest. Several areas of the city were still deprived of power supply. Garden, Saddar, Shah Faisal Colony, Gulistan-e-Johar, North Karachi, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Federal B. Area, Baloch Colony and Model Colony remained the most affected areas.
The traffic system in the city also collapsed due to the rain and hours-long traffic jam was witnessed on every artery of the city. The traffic slowed down in the evening when parts of the city received the rain. Many traffic signals got out of order and traffic officials found absent from duty.
One Tariq was electrocuted and two others were injured as they received electric shocks in a house in the Qasim Market area of Hdyerabad.
An electric pole fell on a hotel in the Liaquat Colony area in Hyderabad, injuring three persons. The injured were rushed to Liaqaut University Hospital where they were reported to be in critical condition.
According to TV channels, heavy downpour returned to lash Karachi on late Saturday night.
Published in The Nation newspaper on 07-Aug-2016
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