Karachi rain: PTI lawmaker says will raise voice against DHA, CBC in parliament

KARACHI: PTI lawmakers on Sunday demanded the government conduct audits of the Defence Housing Authority (DHA) and the Cantonment Board Clifton (CBC) after the recent spell of torrential rains wreaked havoc in DHA and Clifton, with several houses being flooded by rainwater.

PTI MNA Aftab Siddiqui, who was elected from Karachi's Defence and Clifton constituencies, announced that he would raise his voice in the parliament against the DHA and the CBC.

"Water never accumulated here for more than three days after rains," Siddiqui said. This happened because "the drainage system of these areas is not working", he added, noting that he would also seek help from the civil society to address these issues.

Meanwhile, PTI MPA Shehzad Qureshi regretted the situation and demanded Prime Minister Imran Khan and President Dr Arif Alvi take notice of the situation that had emerged during and after the heavy spell of rains. 

Army vehicles 'deployed at various choke points'

Separately, in an update to the rain-caused destruction, the Pakistan Army said its "relief and rescue efforts continue in flood hit areas of Karachi".

In a statement issued Sunday evening, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said the military's engineers had cleared Karachi Port Trust (KPT), Civic Centre, and the Mohsin Bhopali and Golimar underpasses for traffic but that work on the Gizri underpass was "in progress".

"De-watering at multiple locations continues to ensure availability of civic facilities," the ISPR said. "Army mobile recovery vehicles are deployed at various choke points to shift vehicles stuck in flood to ensure flow of traffic."

Sindh declares 20 districts 'calamity-affected' 

The Sindh government on Saturday had declared four cities of the province calamity-hit after back-to-back spells of heavy rains in August ravaged all infrastructure and left citizens' lives in peril.

According to a notification issued by the government's Relief Department and shared by provincial leadership's spokesperson, Murtaza Wahab, some 20 districts in Karachi, Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas, and Shaheed Benazirabad (Nawabshah) were declared as "calamity-affected areas".

"Whereas the heavy rainfalls during monsoon season have caused the loss of human life and property in various districts of the Province of Sindh, Government of Sindh, in the exercise of powers vested under Section 3 of the Sindh National Calamities (Prevention & Relief) Act-1958, therefore, declares the following districts of the province as 'calamity-affected areas'," the notification read.