Overflowing Sewers and Power Outage Paralyze Muharram Preparations
HYDERABAD: A rain shower lasting barely 20–25 minutes this evening—coinciding with the sighting of the Muharram crescent—has laid bare the hollow promises of the district administration, Hyderabad’s Mayor, the Municipal Corporation and WASA, and HESCO. Despite a fortnight of high-profile meetings and press briefings claiming “emergency preparedness” for Muharram, tonight’s brief rainfall was enough to flood streets, choke gutters, and plunge large swathes of the city into darkness.
Manholes overflowed almost immediately, turning several neighbourhoods into stagnant lakes of sewage-laden water. Power, cut the moment the rain began, remained out past midnight, crippling religious observances on the very first night of Muharram. The traditional raising of sacred standards (Alam Pak) and the post-Maghrib majalis and azadari processions were severely disrupted.
“These disastrous conditions prove that the so-called Muharram ‘preparations’ were nothing but photo opportunities,” said Zawar Abdul Sattar Dars, Patron of the Azadari Rabita Committee Hyderabad, in a late-night statement. “Had officials spent even half the time cleaning drains, desilting sewers, and arranging proper lighting that they spent in ceremonial meetings, Hyderabad would not be in this state tonight.”
Mr Dars added that HESCO officials had staged photo sessions at pumping stations before the rain, circulating the images to the media as evidence of readiness—images now shown to be purely cosmetic.
The Azadari Rabita Committee calls on the Government of Sindh to take immediate notice of Hyderabad’s deteriorating situation, to restore essential services without delay, and to implement genuine, sustained measures that will safeguard the city’s residents and protect the religious and historical traditions of Muharram.