KARACHI: Traders in Karachi said on Tuesday they were counting losses worth billions of rupees after heavy rains and flooding battered Pakistan’s commercial hub over the past few days.
The rains, which began with the onset of monsoon season in South Asia in mid-June, have already killed at least 150 people in Pakistan, with nearly half the deaths recorded in the country’s south and southwest.
In Karachi, the capital of the southern Sindh province, a rain emergency was announced on Monday, after large parts of the megapolis were left under water and without power, and at least 11 deaths from rain-related accidents were reported during the day.
Rainwater has inundated Karachi’s old city, where most of its wholesale markets dealing in commodities and garments are located. The markets supply goods to almost areas of the megapolis and other parts of Pakistan.
“The markets in old city area were half submerged by Tuesday afternoon and it seemed that the things have slipped out of the hands of administration,” Atiq Mir, chairman of All Karachi Tajir Ittehad, an umbrella of major business associations in the city, told Arab News on Tuesday.
“We estimate that the flooding has cost the traders billions of rupees,” he said. “The traders have suffered losses, not seen in last 10 years due to the mismanagement of government and we demand that the government should compensate traders because they are already suffering from the high inflation and low business activities.”
The Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) has requested that the Sindh government declare the city as “calamity hit.”
If the calamity status is declared, the affected areas will receive tax relief.
“We have asked the government to declare Karachi ‘calamity hit’ following the flooding of main commercial centers,” KCCI president Muhammad Idrees Memon told Arab News.
“We are working on to ascertain the exact amount of rain-related losses to the business community.”
The Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FPCCI) said business activity was unlikely to resume immediately after the Eid holiday.
“The actual situation will emerge after tomorrow when the markets will be opened after de-watering and Eid holidays,” FPCCI president Irfan Iqbal Sheikh said. “If the government does not move to improve the situation, the resumption of business activities from Wednesday seems impossible.”
As local authorities continued to remove water across the city, the Pakistan Meteorological Department has warned more downpours were expected in Karachi from Thursday.
