Forgotten revamp plan: Nehr-i-Khayyam starts claiming Karachiites lives

Nehr-i-Khayyam, a forgotten dream of the Sindh government with a revamp plan to turn into a recreational spot, started claiming the precious lives of Karachi citizens now.

A child fell into the extremely polluted Nehr-i-Khayyam stewed in filth and garbage. Four more people drowned into the water body while trying to save the child, taking the death toll to five in yesterday’s incident.

At least three years ago, the Sindh government had announced to initiate the beautification project of Nehr-i-Khayyam, an open nullah located near Karachi Grammar School in the Clifton area. It had been initiated under the Karachi neighbourhood project and outsourced to some prominent personalities like Jameel Yousuf, Shahid Saadullah and others.

Nehr-i-Khayyam in 2019

In October 2019, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah had approved the signing of an agreement with a private party through his cabinet to upgrade and beautify Nehr-i-Khayyam in Karachi’s Clifton neighbourhood to turn it into a recreational spot.

CM Syed Murad Ali Shah had announced that the channel will be a gift to the people of Karachi so they can have picnics with their families, sailing in beautiful boats and reading books and trying different flavours of coffee on its bank, The News reported.

Local Government Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah had presented an agenda item pertaining to an agreement to be signed between the Sindh government and a private party, PANI, for the improvement of Nehr-e-Khayyam. PANI, representing a group of NGOs led by architect Shahid Abdullah, sought the cabinet’s approval for their plan.

Nehr-e-Khayyam runs from Gizri, crossing besides the Ocean Mall, up to the sea. Long ago, it was used to drain the storm water into the sea. The water in the channel travels both ways: from ground to sea during low tide and from sea to ground during high tide.

It was informed that for the past few years, sewage is being discharged into Nehr-e-Khayyam to take it to the sea, and the practice of dumping solid waste along its banks has become a bother, while the area has also attracted land grabbers and encroachers.

The advisory board was also told that according to a draft agreement, PANI will develop a recreational spot on the area with Nehr-e-Khayyam on the north and the service lane on the south from Khayaban-e-Saadi to Khayaban-e-Iqbal and adopt the land for 30 years.

The draft states that to segregate and ensure the smooth flow of sewage currently being conveyed through Nehr-e-Khayyam, the Sindh government will construct a separate conduit in the portion proposed for the development of a park for the passage of sewage through reed beds.

Under the proposal, the park will not be used for any political activity and its title will remain with the government, while it will not be used for any commercial activity either, except for tuck shops, and no structure will be allowed to be built over 15 feet.

The CM said the project has already been delayed, so the cabinet should approve it in the larger interest of the city. He allowed the LG department to sign the agreement and start the development works.

‘Water quality is poor’

According to a Dawn report published in February 2020, if the people of Karachi use the Nehr while its water quality is poor, the people will suffer from waterborne diseases, water-washed diseases, water-based diseases and water-related vector-borne diseases.

A visit to the Nehr shows that it is an extremely polluted water body. It emits very strong pungent smell and does not contain water. It contains septage, which is a combination of liquid and solid material as found in septic tanks and cesspools. Septage contains four major types of human pathogenic (disease-causing) organisms: bacteria, viruses, protozoa, and helminths.

Its physical characteristics make septage difficult to treat. High levels of grease, grit, hair and large solids in septage can clog pipes and pumps. The anaerobic nature of septage results in the presence of odorous compounds. Foaming can also be a problem when air is blown into the septage. The proponents intend to establish waste-water treatment plant for septage treatment. This will not be feasible and should not be done. Putting septage in a municipal waste-water treatment plant will spoil the pumps and other mechanical equipment.

Currently, the Nehr receives the raw municipal waste water. The site visit also showed that it has almost no water flows. The constituents were stagnant, indicating that its inlet and outlet are probably blocked.

The English daily’s report also detailed the complicated process of its cleaning before being beautified.

Overhaul hits snags

Nehr-e-Khayyam stews in filth and garbage while those living in its vicinity await the much-touted plan to revamp the site and develop a recreational spot to be implemented, Express Tribune reported in June 2021.

It was to be a “gift for the people of Karachi” but like many promises made to the metropolis, this one to appears to be merely on paper. A sore sight Nehr-e-Khayam is roughly 10-feet-deep and one kilometer long.

It runs from the Gizri crossing, beside Ocean Mall, Clifton and runs into the sea. It is filled with garbage and sewage even though it was originally meant for drainage of rainwater into the sea.

In fact, water travels both ways in Nehr-e-Khayam – during low tide, from the ground to the sea and during high tide, from the sea to the ground. Currently, it is a sore sight apart from a few nurseries dotting one of its banks.

When the English daily contacted both the signatories of the agreement, neither of them were willing to accept responsibility for the delay. Instead, they passed the buck onto each other but did not wish to be named while doing so.

Karachi administration announces plan’s revival

In September 2021, Karachi Administrator and the ruling PPP leader Murtaza Wahab had visited the Nehr and once again made announcement that Nehr-e-Khayyam Clifton is being paid full attention by Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) and it will be beautified.

The Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) Managing Director (MD), Civil Society representative Yawar Abbas and others were also present there.

He had inspected the canal in detail and directed to solve the sewerage problems of the canal. He said that the canal will be made more beautiful. Wahab had also directed that the instructions issued for the improvement of Nehr-e-Khayyam should be fully implemented and all the works must be completed within the stipulated time.

At least cover it to save lives

For the much-touted beautification, it seems that the Sindh government and Karachi administration have even forgotten to at least cover the nullah as it has started claiming the lives of Karachi besides waterborne diseases for the locals in the adjoining belt.