Pak: Heavy rainfall exposes Sindh's faulty drainage system, 5 dead

Karachi [Pakistan], July 12 (ANI): Record-breaking rainfall in Karachi has exposed the city's drainage system and the Sindh government's claims regarding its rain emergency plans as several main roads and streets were completely flooded.
As many as five people were dead due to heavy downpour as several main roads and streets were completely flooded in Karachi. The heavy rainfall exposed the city's drainage system and the Sindh government's claims regarding its rain emergency plans as Karachi's posh areas including DHA and Clifton were submerged due to heavy showers where rainwater entered homes with the masses slamming authorities for their negligence that has ruined their Eid festivities.
Meanwhile, in a statement, MQM-P slammed the Sindh government over its "failure" amid continuous heavy rainfall.
"Rains have once again exposed the state of Karachi's infrastructure. The city's sewerage system is choked with roads giving a view of ponds," the statement read, adding that citizens are suffering due to the incompetence of the Sindh government.
The MQM-P is a key coalition partner in the Shehbaz Sharif-led Pakistan government.
Moreover, due to the torrential rains, several roads in Karachi were filled with water and closed for traffic. The police officials said the traffic has been severely affected due to the accumulation of water, while the flow of the water at Korangi Causeway Road has increased after overnight showers, The News International reported.
The accumulation of water also led to power outages in the South Asian Country as 500 feeders were shut due to the accumulation of water in those places and the metropolis was provided with electricity from 1,400 out of 1,900 power feeders.
The power utility said that the feeders have been switched off "due to safety and technical reasons" and once the water has been drained from the areas, the electricity supply will resume.
The power of Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Surjani, Baldia, Bin Qasim and some other towns had been affected, it added.
Frequent load-shedding across the country has left the people suffering in sweltering high temperatures. The Shehbaz Sharif government has blamed its predecessor Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for the energy shortfall.
Several measures have been imposed to reduce the shortfall between the supply and demand of electricity as several Pakistan federal ministers urged the traders to adopt austerity measures to reduce the wastage of fuel and electricity.
Pakistan is facing an extensively growing energy crisis. Due to Pakistan's inability to make payments to the Chinese power supplies, the country lies in the abyss of electricity outages which is disrupting life and business amid this unbearable heatwave.
The Pakistan government recently decided to increase the electricity tariff, adding to the woes of the people. Pakistani masses who are under the burden of rising inflation and a deteriorating economy were shocked by the rise in basic electricity tariff by Rs 7.9 per unit.
Currently, the basic power tariff is Rs 16.91 per unit and with an increase of Rs 7.9078 per unit, it will be more than Rs 24 per unit.
In the wake of the devastating situation in Karachi, Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif telephoned the chief minister of Sindh, Murad Ali Shah, expressing grief over the loss of precious lives, offering every possible support to the provincial government.
As per The News International, the premier directed the provincial governments and the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) for making coordinated efforts to ensure public safety and relocation of the affected people as monsoon rains battered parts of the country.
An official from the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said that this year's monsoon system has caused above-average rainfall in Balochistan, while the monsoon average in Karachi stood at 141mm.(ANI)