Sindh Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon said on Thursday that storm drains had been cleared in advance and credited his party’s provincial govenrment for its handling of the monsoon rains.
Addressing a press conference in Karachi, he accused certain media houses of running a pre-planned campaign against the Pakistan Peoples Party-led Sindh government while referring to a report published in Dawn Newspaper that acknowledged improved drainage.
Memon said storm drains had been cleared in advance and heavy machinery was deployed for drainage. But lapses might have occurred, he conceded.
Earlier, Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab had said that the city was dealing with record rainfall at over 200mm while its drainage system has a capacity of only 40mm.
“Citizens faced difficulties, and for that we apologise,” he remarked, adding that Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah had personally monitored relief efforts.
The press conference began with prayers for journalist Khawar Hussain, who was found shot dead in Sanghar earlier this month.
Read: Power outages persist as Karachi gears for more rain
Pakistan remains one of the lowest contributors to global emissions but is bearing the brunt of climate change, said Memon, echoing Wahab’s remarks yesterday attributing collapse of the city’s road network to record rainfall.
Manghopir recorded 246 millimetres of rain and Korangi 140 millimetres, asserted Memon.
He referred to the deaths and destruction from monsoon rains in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, where the toll stands past 445 killed, Punjab, which recorded 165 deaths, alongside 40 deaths in Sindh, 23 in Balochistan and eight in Islamabad.
Even colder countries are now experiencing temperatures as high as 45 degrees Celsius, said Memon.
He credited the provincial government for being hands on in its approach with senior officials including the chief minister and local government officers being on ground during the rains.
Recalling past floods, Memon said that the United Nations secretary-general had once expressed alarm over the drainage mechanism in the city, and claimed that the Pakistan Peoples Party-led Sindh government had managed to resolve that challenge.
Responding to criticism from the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), Memon accused MQM-P leader Farooq Sattar of attempting to politicise the issue. Memon added that he had no objections to sitting with Sattar and asked why, if the MQM-P leader was so concerned, had he boycotted local government elections.
