The National Highways Authority (NHA) has closed the Karachi-Larkana Indus Highway as several parts of the road are still submerged under flood water.
NHA sources state that the highway near Mehar, Khairpur Nathan Shah, and Sehwan toll plazas is inaccessible due to 3 feet of flood water. The department has closed the highway indefinitely as it is unknown when the flood water will drain.
Authorities stated that the floods have also severely damaged parts of GT road around Nowshero, Kandiar, Qazi Ahmed, and Jahanian. They added that the flood damage has increased travel time between Sukkur and Karachi from six hours to fifteen hours.
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) reported that over 5,000 kilometers of roads have been damaged across Pakistan due to devastating floods and heavy rainfall.
Road Rehabilitation
Provincial government to set aside Rs. 3.5 billion to repair the road infrastructure of Karachi and surrounding areas.
City administrator Murtaza Wahab stated during a conference:
Due to the effects of climate change, there has been more than usual rainfall across the world, for which no country, including Pakistan, is prepared. Karachi’s roads will be reconstructed at a cost of Rs. 3.5 billion.
He said the department will adopt a two-phase approach to rehabilitate the infrastructure:
- Urgent completion of Annual Development Program (ADP) projects related to roads, water dispersal channels, and sewage.
- Repairing potholes in the city’s roads.
Sharing the breakdown of the earmarked funds, Wahab specified that the government will spend Rs. 2.5 billion on road repair, and allocate the remaining for flood victims. He added that the government has 157 new projects in the pipeline to optimize the city infrastructure.
Sources say that the government will also rehabilitate the road network across the rest of Sindh. Although it is yet to reveal a tangible plan for that effort.
