KARACHI: Since early on Thursday, word of the rain alarm had been spreading among resident community groups of the Defence Housing Authority.
Many locals claimed that their situation—which included occasionally dug-up roads—made them fearful of even typical downpours, thus when severe rain and thunder were predicted for this area, it worried them much.
Dawn was informed by the president of Clifton Defence Community (CDC) that they felt exposed in DHA during the rainy season. “We get scared even in normal rain.” It can also cause us suffering,” he stated.
Everywhere you look, ditches have been dug up for various purposes. Some are being used to build stormwater drains, while others are being dug up to install new Sui Southern Gas Company lines or other utility connections. He said that a car had also fallen into one of these ditches during the most recent rainstorm, which occurred only a few weeks prior. “When it rains, water is everywhere, making it difficult to see the dug-up areas,” he said.
According to the president of Clifton Defence Community, the last time it rained, there was pandemonium.
It is impossible to tell if the water is a few inches or many feet deep. In these situations, appropriate barriers and fences are required, which was not done the previous time, he continued.
For this, we got in touch with DHA and Cantonment Board Clifton (CBC). While the CBC has stated that they are prepared for any emergency linked to rain, the DHA did not comment. Certain areas have small fencing installed, while other areas have plastic tape. Husayn Abbas, a resident of the Phase 7 extension, stated, “But we feel that these measures are inadequate in normal situations because here we are hearing of more than usual rain.”
“The CBC appears unprepared in comparison to other institutions that are exercising caution, providing emergency center phone numbers, and providing care.” On their social media pages, where all of the publicity is centered around their cosmetic work in DHA, they are not even posting awareness messages. Nevertheless, all of us inhabitants are aware of the DHA business number, 1092. It remains to be seen if it will be useful or not, according to Muhammad Ali, the CDC’s director of municipal affairs.
“The DHA is not addressing the citizens’ actual concerns. We want to see devices used to pump out water and extract stuck cars, as well as the setting up of rescue camps at various locations. We can only hope that it doesn’t rain right now. Because if it occurs, we can definitely expect calamity,” Phase 5 resident Arshad Hussain concluded.
