Karachi: Sea wall project in doldrums

[Naveed Yaseen]

By Jan Khaskheli
Residents of fishermen localities Dabla, Rehri, Pan Paro and other low-lying areas near the seashore are terrified of the disastrous high tides as the monsoon season is approaching. The authorities seem indifferent towards the construction of a three-kilometre-long safety wall, for which a budget of Rs100 million has been approved.

Naib Nazim City District Government of Karachi (CDGK), Nasreen Jalil along with the technical staff visited the coastal area near the city on June 12, which was affected by the high tides and announced the launch of the safety wall project. The local activists, appreciating the CDGK for the initiative, told The News that they had tried to convince the visiting authorities to bring these localities above sea level by filling in the earth, otherwise they said the safety wall will not be effective.

Explaining the ground realities, they added, if the safety wall will be built without levelling the ground, the low intensity rainfall will prove to be more disastrous for the communities. The rain water coming from the nearby hills and villages will inundate the villages as there won’t be an outlet for the rain water to flow towards the sea as the wall will become a barrier.

Once constructed, the five-feet-high safety wall should be able to protect Dabla, Rehri, Pan Paro and Lut Basti. It is pertinent to note that besides the CDGK Naib Nazim, Fisheries Minister, Zahid Bhurgari, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) MPA, Haji Muzaffar Shujrah, Bin Qasim Town Nazim, Jan Alam Jamot and other officials visited the affected villages after the unusual high tides hit the area in early June. They assured on behalf of the government and their respective organisations to take necessary actions for protecting the communities. “The provincial government chose this village to be built as a model and approved a budget of Rs60 million. Though, after the change in the political system, the project is lying in doldrums,” stated Nawaz Dablo, belonging to the most affected village, Dabla which comprises 300 houses.

Earlier, Fishermen Cooperative Society (FCS) built a protective wall in front of the seashore, but due to the carelessness, the authorities never bothered to repair the embankment to protect people. In the high tides, especially in June and July, they have to cope with seeping water in their houses. The Dabla locality is situated below sea level and its residents always face difficulties during the monsoon season and high tides, however they have never relocated from this area. Dabla residents have urged the government to rebuild the village by building a proper drainage system and filling it with earth.

Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum (PFF) spokesman, Sami Memon, said it is the government’s responsibility to assure the protection of the people and their livelihood, he added. Nasrullah Larik, spokesman of Sindh Fisheries Minister when contacted told The News that the ministry has already written letters to the concerned institutions, including Karachi Port Trust (KPT), Defence Housing Authority (DHA), FCS and the CDGK to look into this matter.

According to Nasrullah, the minister will arrange meetings with these organisations to remove the grievances of the community, adding he said that the FCS is responsible for resolving their problems. He said the ministry is completely aware of the problems and unnecessary delays in the completion of the project, announced by certain government bodies and we will take further action for the timely completion of these schemes.

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Part of Dabla village has been inundated due to the absence of a safety sea wall during the recent high tides ––The News photo

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