• Latest
  • Trending
[DW.com]Urban flooding — who is responsible for Karachi’s woes? | DW | 28.08.2020

[DW.com]Urban flooding — who is responsible for Karachi’s woes? | DW | 28.08.2020

5 months ago
[Kashmir Reader]Turkey’s Erdogan says extra 10M doses of Chinese vaccine due – Kashmir Reader

[Kashmir Reader]Turkey’s Erdogan says extra 10M doses of Chinese vaccine due – Kashmir Reader

30 mins ago
[Oneindia]Parakram Diwas: PM Modi in Kolkata for Subhas Chandra Bose’s 125th birth anniversary celebrations

[Oneindia]Parakram Diwas: PM Modi in Kolkata for Subhas Chandra Bose’s 125th birth anniversary celebrations

2 hours ago
[Daily Excelsior]Implementation of Drug De-addiction Policy

[Daily Excelsior]Implementation of Drug De-addiction Policy

3 hours ago
[Indian Express]Old Bhopal tense as NGO gets ownership of disputed land

[Indian Express]Old Bhopal tense as NGO gets ownership of disputed land

5 hours ago
[Sputnik]Biden Administration to ‘Review’ Taliban Compliance With February 2020 Peace Deal

[Sputnik]Biden Administration to ‘Review’ Taliban Compliance With February 2020 Peace Deal

6 hours ago
[DW.com]US to review Afghan peace deal with Taliban | DW | 22.01.2021

[DW.com]US to review Afghan peace deal with Taliban | DW | 22.01.2021

6 hours ago
[Daily Excelsior]Srinagar Corps, Karu (Leh), Rajouri likely to get new GOCs

[Daily Excelsior]Srinagar Corps, Karu (Leh), Rajouri likely to get new GOCs

8 hours ago
[Free Press Journal]Complainant asked to produce govt sanction in case against Kangana Ranaut

[Free Press Journal]Complainant asked to produce govt sanction in case against Kangana Ranaut

8 hours ago
[The Northlines]Courage personified – Northlines

[The Northlines]Courage personified – Northlines

9 hours ago
[The Northlines]NC bats for early passage of Temples & Shrines Bill – Northlines

[The Northlines]NC bats for early passage of Temples & Shrines Bill – Northlines

10 hours ago
[Kashmir Reader]J&K pvt schools move Supreme Court for 4G internet – Kashmir Reader

[Kashmir Reader]J&K pvt schools move Supreme Court for 4G internet – Kashmir Reader

10 hours ago
[The Northlines]Parakram Divas: JKLG pays tribute to Netaji – Northlines

[The Northlines]Parakram Divas: JKLG pays tribute to Netaji – Northlines

10 hours ago
  • Contact Us
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
Saturday, January 23, 2021
  • Login
Pakistan News Updates
  • Home
  • USA News
    • Bloomberg
    • Chicago Tribune News
    • CNN News
    • Fox News
    • Huffington Post News
    • Los Angeles Times News
    • ESPN
    • NBC News
    • New York Time News
    • Newsweek News
    • Reddit News
    • Reuters News
    • Time News
    • USA TODAY News
    • Washington Post News
    • Wall Street Journal
  • UK News
    • BBC News
    • Cambridge News UK News
    • Daily Express UK News
    • Daily Mail Online News
    • The Guardian News
    • The Huffington Post UK News
    • The Independent News
    • The Irish Times UK News
    • The Telegraph News
  • Chinese News
    • Beijing Bulletin News
    • China Digital Times News
    • China Military News
    • Chinadaily.com.cn News
    • Ecns News
    • People’s Daily Online News
    • Shanghai Daily News
    • South China Morning Post News
    • SupChina News
    • The China Post News
    • Xinhuanet News
    • Xinwengao News
  • Indian News
    • Business Standard News
    • Daily Excelsior News
    • Deccan Chronicle News
    • Free Press Journal News
    • Hindustantimes News
    • India Today News
    • Kashmir Reader News
    • NDTV News
    • News18 News
    • Northlines News
    • Oneindia News
    • Patrika News
    • Rising Kashmir News
    • Scroll.in News
    • State Times News
    • Telangana Today News
    • The Asian Age News
    • The Financial Express News
    • The Hindu News
    • The Indian Express News
    • The Quint News
    • Times of India News
    • ZeeNews 24 News
  • Arab News
    • Saudigazette
    • Albawaba News
    • Aljazera News
    • Arab News
    • UAE News Media
      • Al Arabiya News
      • Al bayan News
      • Al Ittihad Newspaper News
      • UAE today News
      • The National.ae News
      • Gulf News
      • Khaleej Times News
      • Emirates 24/7 News
  • Other Media
    • European News Media
      • French News Media
        • France 24 News
        • France Diplomatie News
        • Le Monde diplomatique News
        • RFI News
        • The Local News
        • The Paris News
      • German News Media
        • DEUTSCHLAND.de News
        • SPIEGEL ONLINE News
        • ZEIT News
    • Russian News Media
      • RT News
      • Russia Insider News
      • Sputnik News
      • TASS News
      • The Moscow Times News
    • Canadian News Media
      • CBC News
      • CityNews Toronto News
      • CTV News
      • Financial Post News
      • Global News
      • Reuters News
      • The Globe and Mail News
      • Toronto Star News
      • Toronto Sun
      • National Post
    • Israel Media News
      • Haaretz News
      • The Jerusalem Post
      • The Times of Israel
    • Turkish News Media
      • Anadolu
      • Daily Sabah
      • Hurriyet
      • TRT World
      • Yenisafak
      • NationalTurk
No Result
View All Result
Pakistan News Updates
No Result
View All Result
Home Other International News Media European News Media German News Media DW.com

[DW.com]Urban flooding — who is responsible for Karachi’s woes? | DW | 28.08.2020

August 28, 2020
in DW.com
5 min read
242 10
0
[DW.com]Urban flooding — who is responsible for Karachi’s woes? | DW | 28.08.2020
491
SHARES
1.4k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
[DW.com]Urban flooding — who is responsible for Karachi’s woes? | DW | 28.08.2020


“I had to walk for nearly five hours to reach home from my workplace. It was raining heavily and I had to wrap a plastic bag around my mobile phone and other electronic gadgets,” Saad Ahmed Shah, a senior executive at a financial organization in Karachi, told DW.

“Some of my colleagues are still stuck in the office, as it was impossible for them to get back home in these weather conditions,” Shah added.

Karachi experienced its heaviest rains in almost a century, killing at least 41 people, city officials said Friday. Flooding that resulted has completely inundated several neighborhoods, with the country’s National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) saying that hundreds of thousands of people are still trapped due to waterlogging in low-lying slums. Citizens have been without electricity and mobile phone connection for hours.

More heavy rains are expected in southern and southwestern Pakistan over the next 48 hours, raising fears of further devastation.

Citizens are blaming the authorities for the catastrophic situation, saying there had been no preparation before the start of the regular monsoon season.

“The MET office had forecast heavy rains two months ago, but the authorities didn’t do anything about it,” Shah said.

Karachi residents complain that their city lacks basic infrastructure facilities despite its role as the nation’s economic and financial hub.

The blame game

Last year, the city, which is home to roughly 15 million people, was named among the 10 least livable cities in the world by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) — the research and analysis division of the Economist Group — in The Global Livability Index 2019.

Since the late 1980s, Karachi has been governed mostly by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) — a party representing Urdu-speaking migrants from India — and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), which is more popular in the rural areas of the southern Sindh province. While the MQM has been in power locally, provincially it is the PPP that calls the shots. Both parties regularly accuse each other of neglecting the city.

However, after torrential rains inundated the city, both the MQM and the PPP came under fire for a lack of preparedness to deal with the situation.

Waqar Mehdi, a special assistant to Sindh’s Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, told DW that the criticism against the PPP’s provincial government was “absurd.”

“These are unprecedented rains due to climate change. The infrastructure (in the city) was not strong enough to withstand such heavy rainfall,” Mehdi said.

“I reject claims that provincial authorities do not empower the local government. We provide them with 26 billion rupees (€300 million, $360 million) annually but local officials don’t use them for the city’s development,” the provincial official said, adding that the PPP administration is working relentlessly to provide relief to Karachi’s residents.

Read more: How climate change is aggravating Pakistan’s water crisis

Volunteers distribute food to flood-affected residents at a flooded area after heavy monsoon rains in Pakistan's port city of Karachi on August 26, 2020

Heavy rains inundated entire neighborhoods and streets

But Raza Haroon, the secretary general of the Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP), a splinter group of the MQM, holds the PPP responsible for Karachi’s woes. “We can only tackle the situation if the powers are decentralized to local bodies,” Haroon told DW, adding that most political parties in the country only pay lip service to Karachi’s plight.

RelatedPosts

[DW.com]US to review Afghan peace deal with Taliban | DW | 22.01.2021

[DW.com]Serbia: Court confirms illegal pushbacks into the EU | DW | 22.01.2021

[DW.com]Kashmir: Militants target non-locals amid tensions over land laws | DW | 19.01.2021

“In the 2018 election, Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party won 14 out of 21 National Assembly (lower house of parliament) seats from Karachi. Sindh’s governor also belongs to the PTI, yet it hasn’t done anything for the city. The PPP doesn’t feel obliged to serve the city as it doesn’t have much electoral representation here,” he added.

The infrastructure issue

Political differences only make a part of Karachi’s protracted management crisis. Experts say that the current predicament is largely a result of rapid and uncontrolled expansion of the city in the past three decades.

“We need to construct roadside drainage channels without delay. We also need to ensure that the gravity-based adjustments of existing drains is done without any compromise,” Noman Ahmed, a columnist who writes about urban planning, told DW.

“New developments in the city have blocked the drainage system. Also, informal settlements around major drainage lines have obstructed the flow of water,” the expert added.

Read more: Open sewage canals put Phnom Penh’s poorest at risk

Large metropolises in South Asia, such as Mumbai and Colombo, have relatively better waste disposal systems, whereas in Karachi, garbage is usually dumped on streets that end up blocking drainage lines. Even little rain in the city can cause streets to flood and make life difficult for the residents.

“It is important that authorities regularly remove solid waste from the drains. As of now, city administration has not lived up to the challenge,” Ahmed underlined.

A ‘campaign’ to take Karachi under Islamabad’s control

In 2010, former president of Pakistan and chairperson of the PPP, Asif Ali Zardari, passed the 18th amendment to the country’s constitution, devolving many financial powers to provinces. Khan’s incumbent government criticizes the amendment and favors centralized powers. Members of his PTI party say that Karachi can prosper more under federal rule.

Read more: India: Several killed in building collapse after monsoon rains

PPP supporters claim that Khan’s party has launched a media campaign to undermine Sindh’s provincial government on the pretext of the Karachi flooding.

“A malicious campaign is underway to pressure the PPP to roll back the 18th amendment and the National Financial Commission (NFC) Award. The federal government wants to bring Karachi under its control, but we won’t allow it,” PPP official Waqar Mehdi told DW.

In the past, Islamabad enjoyed more control over Karachi; however, it did not solve much of the city’s problems.

But the rain destruction in Karachi has somewhat strengthened the narrative that local authorities are incapable of solving the city’s problems. Some people have even urged the Pakistani army to take over the city’s administration.

“Article 140A (of the 18th constitutional amendment) was introduced to empower the local government system, but in reality it has emboldened the provincial government to weaken local bodies,” said PSP’s Haroon.

Karachiites (residents of Karachi), however, say they are not interested in constitutional matters; they want their elected representatives to work harder to improve their living conditions.

“In a way, we are responsible for this crisis, for handing the reins of our city to corrupt politicians. We should blame ourselves,” said Karachi-based financial executive Saad Ahmed Shah.

Read more: A tale of two Pakistans

Additional reporting by S. Khan, DW’s correspondent in Islamabad.





Source link

Tags: AsiaDWcomUrbanfloodingkarachiKarachisPakistanrainfallresponsiblewoes
Share196Tweet123Send

Related Posts

[DW.com]US to review Afghan peace deal with Taliban | DW | 22.01.2021
DW.com

[DW.com]US to review Afghan peace deal with Taliban | DW | 22.01.2021

by Latest Headlines
January 23, 2021
[DW.com]Serbia: Court confirms illegal pushbacks into the EU | DW | 22.01.2021
DW.com

[DW.com]Serbia: Court confirms illegal pushbacks into the EU | DW | 22.01.2021

by Latest Headlines
January 22, 2021
[DW.com]Kashmir: Militants target non-locals amid tensions over land laws | DW | 19.01.2021
DW.com

[DW.com]Kashmir: Militants target non-locals amid tensions over land laws | DW | 19.01.2021

by Latest Headlines
January 20, 2021
[DW.com]Is the Pakistan-Iran-Turkey rail link economically viable? | DW | 14.01.2021
DW.com

[DW.com]Is the Pakistan-Iran-Turkey rail link economically viable? | DW | 14.01.2021

by Latest Headlines
January 15, 2021
[DW.com]COVID-19 vaccine development: What’s the progress? | DW | 14.01.2021
DW.com

[DW.com]COVID-19 vaccine development: What’s the progress? | DW | 14.01.2021

by Latest Headlines
January 14, 2021
Pakistan News Updates

Our Robo collect all news published about Pakistan and Kashmir in International Media. We are covering more than 80 newspapers & news websites.  

Disclaimer | All logos, Trademark, Newspaper Name, News Agency Name, Brand Name, Websites Name/address, News content/articles, Pictures/photos/images, and videos are copyright, trademarks™ or registered® trademarks of their respective holders, used in this website is for Information, research and/or reference purpose only. The Source link is provided with every post. The use of them does not imply any affiliation with or endorsement by them.  

  • Contact Us
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • USA News
    • Bloomberg
    • Chicago Tribune News
    • CNN News
    • Fox News
    • Huffington Post News
    • Los Angeles Times News
    • ESPN
    • NBC News
    • New York Time News
    • Newsweek News
    • Reddit News
    • Reuters News
    • Time News
    • USA TODAY News
    • Washington Post News
    • Wall Street Journal
  • UK News
    • BBC News
    • Cambridge News UK News
    • Daily Express UK News
    • Daily Mail Online News
    • The Guardian News
    • The Huffington Post UK News
    • The Independent News
    • The Irish Times UK News
    • The Telegraph News
  • Chinese News
    • Beijing Bulletin News
    • China Digital Times News
    • China Military News
    • Chinadaily.com.cn News
    • Ecns News
    • People’s Daily Online News
    • Shanghai Daily News
    • South China Morning Post News
    • SupChina News
    • The China Post News
    • Xinhuanet News
    • Xinwengao News
  • Indian News
    • Business Standard News
    • Daily Excelsior News
    • Deccan Chronicle News
    • Free Press Journal News
    • Hindustantimes News
    • India Today News
    • Kashmir Reader News
    • NDTV News
    • News18 News
    • Northlines News
    • Oneindia News
    • Patrika News
    • Rising Kashmir News
    • Scroll.in News
    • State Times News
    • Telangana Today News
    • The Asian Age News
    • The Financial Express News
    • The Hindu News
    • The Indian Express News
    • The Quint News
    • Times of India News
    • ZeeNews 24 News
  • Arab News
    • Saudigazette
    • Albawaba News
    • Aljazera News
    • Arab News
    • UAE News Media
      • Al Arabiya News
      • Al bayan News
      • Al Ittihad Newspaper News
      • UAE today News
      • The National.ae News
      • Gulf News
      • Khaleej Times News
      • Emirates 24/7 News
  • Other Media
    • European News Media
      • French News Media
      • German News Media
    • Russian News Media
      • RT News
      • Russia Insider News
      • Sputnik News
      • TASS News
      • The Moscow Times News
    • Canadian News Media
      • CBC News
      • CityNews Toronto News
      • CTV News
      • Financial Post News
      • Global News
      • Reuters News
      • The Globe and Mail News
      • Toronto Star News
      • Toronto Sun
      • National Post
    • Israel Media News
      • Haaretz News
      • The Jerusalem Post
      • The Times of Israel
    • Turkish News Media
      • Anadolu
      • Daily Sabah
      • Hurriyet
      • TRT World
      • Yenisafak
      • NationalTurk

Our Robo collect all news published about Pakistan and Kashmir in International Media. We are covering more than 80 newspapers & news websites.  

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Create New Account!

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.