Karachi:Chief Secretary Sindh, Syed Mumtaz Ali Shah has directed the authorities of HESCO, SEPCO and K-Electric to ensure availability of electricity for dewatering arrangements during coming monsoon season. This he directed while presiding over a meeting on monsoon contingency plan 2019 at Sindh Secretariat on Tuesday.
Director General PDMA Sindh informed the meeting that the monsoon 2019 (July to September) is likely to overall remain normal. He said normal to above normal rainfall is expected in upper half of Pakistan. Extreme weather events are expected during the period which may cause flooding in the rivers and its adjoining tributaries.
He said that there are four type of rain/flood threats: Riverine flood caused by snow-melting, heavy rainfall in upper catchment area of major rivers, urban floods caused by heavy rain spell / cloud burst, the LBOD flood due to heavy rainfall, overflow of LBOD may urban flooding, and the flash floods due to extreme rainfall in Khirthar / Koh-e-Suleman ranges.
Divisional commissioners informed the meeting regarding plans they have prepared for their respective divisions and districts. Commissioner Karachi Iftikhar Ahmed Shelwani informed the meeting that over all 30 Nullahs in Karachi which may pose threats of overflowing during the monsoon, encroachments are being removed.
Chief Secretary directed the Commissioner Karachi and MD Sindh Solid Waste Management to personally monitor the cleanliness of nullahs and. Chief Secretary directed all commissioners to prepare a list of health institutions, their capacity, emergency beds, doctors, paramedics, mobile dispensaries, vaccines-anti-venom, anti-rabies, etc.
He also directed them to identification of area for temporary relief camps or tent villages at each Taluka over an elevated surface. He also directed the PDMA to increase the number of de-watering pumps for Karachi from 40 to 100.