Karachi:
Karachi Citizens’ Forum (KCF) held a press conference on Tuesday and expressed concern about recurring urban floods that paralyze the city after each rainfall. The forum noted that even a short spell with rain damage property, interferes with businesses, results in loss of life, leads to the closure of schools, causes traffic networks and leaves citizens stranded on flooded roads.
The conference noted that despite the weather warnings from Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) and the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), the city remained unprepared for this Monsun season. The conference recommended the establishment of a central authority composed of urban planners and citizen stakeholders to coordinate efforts among land -owned units. It underlined the need for an urban plan that addresses current challenges as well as future requirements, which emphasized the importance of transparency and accountability in infrastructure expenses, as it said should be ensured through digitization and public supervision. Furthermore, the conference called for the priority of public welfare initiatives, such as repair of sanitation systems, implementation of mass transport projects and rehabilitation of water treatment facilities rather than allocating resources to non-essential cosmetic developments.
The conference called for thorough enforcement of the environmental regulations, held negligent officials responsible, restricts illegal interventions and regulates the production and use of plastic bags. It ended by informing, “Karachi deserves competent governance, honest supervision and sustainable development.”
