The rain challenge

That a picture is worth a thousand words is a strong reality: a newspaper photograph, for example, shows stranded Indian citizens wading through waist-deep water in Mumbai where the downpour floods several parts of the city of nearly 20 million people, causing transport chaos and paralyzing train services used by millions of commuters every day. The grim prospect of this sharp climate change was that the weather system, after dumping nearly 300mm of rainfall over India's economic hub, is now headed for Sindh.
In Karachi, Pakistan's "Mumbai," various areas received rain on Tuesday with weather pundits forecasting two to three days of rains accompanied by thundershowers for the country's economic hub. The Met Office has advised fishermen not to venture out to the deep sea. The only silver lining in the rain forecast for Karachi is that the intensity of rains here might not be as strong as that of the capital of Maharashtra. A warning by the Met Office stated, among other things, that under a strong monsoon system's influence widespread showers and thunderstorms with a number of moderate to heavy rain with strong gusty winds might occur in the lower divisions of the province, and at scattered places in the upper divisions of Sindh from Wednesday to Friday. What is of grave concern for Sindh's residents is the threat of urban flooding in vulnerable areas of Karachi and other parts of lower Sindh. Flashfloods are also feared in Balochistan. In this regard, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has asked its chapters of Sindh and Balochistan to co-ordinate with cellular mobile operators for early dissemination of SMS alerts in the areas.
Tuesday's afternoon showers in Karachi triggered a great deal of panic as people at their workplaces decided to leave for home early to avoid increased hardships due to rain after sunset. The massive rush on thoroughfares therefore led to one of the worst traffic gridlocks across the city, although it did not rain after the day's early shower.
But the million dollars question still begs an answer: Are we fully prepared to deal with the weather challenge in any effective and meaningful manner? The chief of Karachi's utility bodies, including the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board, and city mayor Wasim Akhtar have directed the staff concerned to "remain vigilant" and instantly respond to complaints and reach the spots from where the reports of accumulated rainwater emanate. But this is not sufficient owing to potent threats of urban flooding. What is required on the part of the city administration to identify all vulnerable areas, fortify their position against impending flooding or ask residents to vacate their houses with a view to minimizing the incidence of losses that the natural calamity could inflict on the city of teeming millions in general and its vulnerable areas in particular. But taking such an initiative will require adequate alternate arrangements, albeit temporarily, on a massive scale because the city's landscape is dotted with hundreds of "vulnerable" spots or "authorized" and "unauthorized" neighbourhoods where people have found shelter for many years. Here one must not lose sight of the fact that Karachi's every planned locality is adjacent to at least one katchi abadi that provides domestic staff to residents of planned or posh neighbourhoods.
The vagaries of the weather these days have coincided with the purchase or sale of sacrificial animals ahead of Eidul Azha on Saturday. Since the city consists of multi-storied apartments and katchi abadis, people are finding it extremely difficult to protect their animals against the rains since not many have the facility of providing roof or shelter to these "guests". The sacrificial animals therefore face the risk of ailments on account of their exposure to rains and outbreak of rain-related diseases. Should there be "ferocious" rains as forecast by the Met Office, not only will the animals sellers find less buyers, they will also face the risk of incurring economic losses on account of a glut-like situation which has a deeper meaning in the market dictionary.
Extraordinary situations require extraordinary solutions. Since the province is faced with an extraordinary situation almost on the eve of Eidul Azha, both the federal and provincial governments are required to enable a seemingly battered city government of Karachi to carry out the required tasks in an efficient and orderly manner by providing it with the financial or any other support that it needs.