President Asif Ali Zardari has called for devising a comprehensive plan on a priority basis to prevent urban flooding in Karachi.

He was chairing a meeting on saving Karachi from urban flooding and environmental degradation and promoting sustainable water resource development in Islamabad today.

The President said the Sindh Government should adopt a sustainable and long-term strategy, based on international best practices, for effectively managing sewage and storm-water to save Karachi from urban flooding.

Asif Ali Zardari was given a comprehensive presentation by international water and sewage management experts and proposed various solutions to address the challenges of urban flooding and sewage in Karachi on the pattern of the tunnel sewer systems of Washington DC, the London Super Sewer Project, and the Deep Tunnel Sewerage System of Singapore.

During the briefing, it was proposed that a network of small and large sewer tunnels under existing roads in high-flood zones of Karachi may be developed. It was highlighted that underground tunnelling using modern techniques would not disturb the public, city traffic and land ownership.

The experts informed that Karachi generates almost 450 million gallons per day of sewage. They added that sewage and storm-water are collected in small and large open drains which fall into the Lyari and Malir rivers and are released untreated into the sea, polluting the marine ecosystem. It was further informed that the existing network of drains has limited capacity and absorbs around 50 percent of the rainwater under normal circumstances. The meeting was told that excess water is not absorbed by the system, causing urban flooding.

Speaking on the occasion, the President underlined the need for completing the feasibility study to control flooding in Karachi through tunnelling options within three months. He said Karachi and its coastal areas need to be made clean and brought at par with other Metropolitan cities of the world. He said that since the proposed project would have significant environmental impacts, therefore, Government of Sindh should approach international donors to seek environmental financing for the project. He said the construction of the wastewater treatment system would also help supply treated water to Balochistan for agriculture, besides promoting the fisheries sector.

The President remarked that the city of Hyderabad is also facing urban flooding and sewage issues that also need to be addressed on priority.

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, Adjutant General Lt General Muhammad Asim Malik, Minister for Local Government Department of Sindh, Saeed Ghani, Mayor Karachi Murtaza Wahab, senior government officials as well as local and international water management experts attended the meeting.