During last year’s flood, a child drowned in floodwater in Iqbal Town
It seems that authorities have learned no lesson from last year’s monsoon, many areas of Islamabad were flooded as the rain and flash floods wreaked havoc. Entire sectors, societies, and towns were submerged in water for days. Even a child in Iqbal Town drowned where flood water was three to four feet high.
The monsoon season has just begun and despite repeated warnings issued by the Met department of possible flash floods and rain-related incidents in twin cities, no department in capital is prepared in case any untoward incident happens. It is important to mention here that the nullahs of twin cities remain clogged and have not been cleaned for the past many years. The heaps of garbage and waste can be found swimming on almost all the nullahs and ravines. The city administrations of the twin cities have been criminally negligent in this regard.
Every year, the Lai Nullah overflows and half of Rawalpindi comes under its filthy, garbage-filled water. Many people lose their life; others lose their homes and belongings. For the past decade or so hardly a year goes by when there has not been any flooding in the area. This year, the Lai is all set to witness another flooding and the district administration has done nothing in this regard. It has been witnessed that the civic authorities are more interested in taking steps after the floods and are least inclined to take any precautionary measures.
The situation is far worse in rural Islamabad, the constituency of Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) Minister Dr Tariq Fazal Choudhary. The adjacent areas of Bara Kahu portray a far dismal picture as many of the infrastructure and roads are in shambles and in the case of a flood the residents are ill-prepared to secure their life and limb.
Pakistan Today contacted CDA Deputy Director (Media) Malik Saleem to ask about the preparations undertaken by the CDA in this regard. He said that the relevant directorates have been transferred to Islamabad Metropolitan Corporation (IMC) and now it is under their authority to clean the nullahs and take steps in this regard.
“I have been living in Bara Kahu for past 10 years. Every year in the monsoon season the water makes its way in our streets and homes. The whole area turns into a lake. The dilapidated condition of roads makes it harder to travel in rain. I request the authorities to take necessary steps and since Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhary has become the state minister for CADD, we expect him to deliver on this front,” said Khurram Rehman, a government servant and resident of Bara Kahu.
