Gujrat: The Height of the Akbari Fort and the Tragedy of a Sinking City

When rain descends from the folds of clouds, it assumes the form of divine mercy for the earth—reviving parched soil and spreading smiles across the weary faces of farmers. Yet, when this very rain turns unbridled and the administrative apparatus built to welcome it pulls a heavy shroud of negligence over its eyes, this descent of mercy transforms into a harrowing shape of torment and sudden calamity.

Gujrat, a historic and industrial city of Punjab that holds a unique global identity through its civilizational expanse, skilled artisans, and proximity to the Chenab River, presents the terrifying spectacle of a pond and a swamp every monsoon season. Here, urban flooding is no longer merely a climatic accident; rather, it has become a chilling confession of administrative apathy, unscientific planning, and a criminal denial of historical geographical realities. When the hydrological management of cities is evaluated on a global scale, the concepts of “Sponge Cities” are put into practice, but our reality stands in stark opposition.

When the state of urban drainage in Gujrat is objectively reviewed through the corridors of history, one’s eyes are opened to the bitter truth that the rulers and elements who dominated this city consciously hollowed out its roots at every level for the gratification of greed. The city’s drainage and sewerage system, in particular, fell prey to the plunder of commission agents belonging to the corruption mafia. It is an immensely agonizing chapter of history that two decades ago, when a renowned international Japanese company completed a detailed survey of Gujrat, officially announced its complete reconstruction on modern lines, and promised a world-class drainage system, the hungry brokers sitting in the echelons of power burnt this magnificent project in the fire of personal lust. The people of Gujrat can never forget the actors who sacrificed the Japanese company’s dream at the altar of kickbacks.

Later, when times changed and Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi assumed the helm of this region as Chief Minister, he released heavy, voluminous funds amounting to billions of rupees to radically improve and modernize Gujrat’s decrepit and worn-out drainage system. Yet the tragedy was that these billions of rupees in Gujrat’s history remained restricted to a few specific and powerful pockets, and to openly divide these funds, the entire system was mortgaged to a fostered contractor mafia. With an exceptionally substandard, superficial, and unprofessional approach, this mafia played a game of window-dressing that instead of fixing Gujrat’s sewerage system, ruined it permanently and turned the entire city into an artificial swamp. Today, the agony of drainage dancing through the city’s streets and roads offers no hope of deliverance from this terrifying urban flood unless a severe accountability of these true, deceitful culprits is carried out. The political leadership that followed also made efforts suited to their respective statures for the betterment of the city; and although their own technical errors consistently hampered this improvement, every resident of Gujrat continues to carry the heavy burden of those primary sinners who devastated Gujrat’s history, civilization, and urbanity.

Last year, when urban flooding once again descended upon the city as a mortal torment, uproar echoed everywhere, the wheel of life halted, and the situation reached a point where the Chief Minister of Punjab had to personally make an emergency visit to Gujrat to rescue the district administration from this storm of incompetence. During this visit, a heavy downpour of announcements and promises took place, accompanied by the release of special funds worth billions for complete and sustainable improvement next year. Despite the sincere efforts and financial provisions of Honorable Maryam Nawaz Sharif, the district administration—entrenched in a colonial mindset—spent all its energies throughout the year on personal image-building and photo sessions rather than the timely completion of this vital sewerage project.

As ill luck would have it, as soon as the monsoon season arrived once again this year, the colorful balloon of good governance and claims deflated entirely, exposing the bitter reality that this malaise of flawed planning persists and rainwater continues to rain down as a torment upon citizens’ lives. And when this rainwater has already devastated citizens’ lives, wounding their homes and businesses, only then do the traditional efforts of WASA and district institutions begin to bear fruit, with water finally receding from the streets after prolonged suffering. Success drums are then beaten over this very temporary performance, adding salt to the injuries of the citizens.

A profound study of Gujrat’s urban geography reveals that its foundations and topography are deeply embedded in its centuries-old historical backdrop. Built during the Mughal era, the Akbari Fort serves as the greatest metaphor for the region’s military, political, and administrative history. Viewed from a geographical and topographical standpoint, the Akbari Fort is situated on a relatively high mound or plateau, and the city’s older structural layout spreads outward from this height in gradual slopes in all directions. Principally and naturally, this elevation of the fort and the surrounding natural slopes should have stood as an exceptional geographical blessing for a drainage system—provided the natural pathways of water flow had been preserved and left unmolested by grotesque tampering.

The tragedy, however, is that over time, unbridled urban expansion and a flood of encroachments mutilated this natural sloping system so ruthlessly that today, that very height and slope have turned into a bane for the city. Unchecked commercialization and illegal constructions in and around the Akbari Fort and its adjoining low-lying areas have blocked all traditional water routes in such a manner that water finds no outlet. The consequence is that when rainwater flows down from the elevated parts of the fort, instead of finding an open path or paved drain ahead, it encounters dead alleys, narrow sewage pipelines, and an endless siege of encroachments. Consequently, this water accumulates in lower regions to form a permanent lake, leaving city residents weeping over their helplessness. Gujrat’s tragedy is not merely the accumulation of rainwater; it is a reflection of that collective apathy and corruption which wakes up with the arrival of every monsoon and slips back into a deep slumber the moment the season shifts.

A permanent and sustainable solution to Gujrat’s longstanding and complex drainage crisis no longer relies on miracles; rather, it demands iron resolve, technical expertise, and prudent political and administrative decisions. First and foremost, there is an urgent need to conduct a detailed, comprehensive GIS survey—moving beyond the city’s current chaotic construction—to map geographical depressions and elevations. Informed by this survey, a cohesive urban drainage master plan spanning a fifty-year horizon must be formulated to channel water scientifically from the slopes surrounding the Akbari Fort to the city’s farthest corners, thereby restoring water to its natural, scientific pathways and countering the designs of those who sabotaged the past Japanese project.

Simultaneously, all encroachments standing upon stormwater drains and traditional water passages around the Akbari Fort and across the city must be demolished with an iron fist, free from any political pressure, favoritism, or expediency. Buffer zones on both sides of major drains must be legally mandated to prevent any individual or mafia from daring to make illegal grabs in the future, allowing cleaning and expansion works to proceed uninterrupted.

The single largest and most fundamental flaw in Gujrat’s existing sewerage and drainage system is that domestic wastewater and clean rainwater descending from the skies are dumped into the exact same pipeline or drain—one that collapses under the slightest pressure or minor downpour. The sole remedy for this issue is the construction of two completely separate systems: on one hand, large-diameter, modern stormwater drains to carry rainwater directly to rivers, streams, or secure locations; and on the other, a separate, secure sewerage line system for wastewater. Eradicating this urban flood torment is impossible without this dual system.

In low-lying and sensitive neighborhoods where water swells annually, modern, automated, high-capacity pumping stations must be installed to activate automatically the moment water levels rise, expelling the water instantly. Given that prolonged electricity outages and faults are routine in this region of Punjab, a foolproof, automated backup of solar energy systems and high-power generators must be guaranteed at all critical disposal works and pumping stations so that drainage operations are not suspended even for a single moment during power failures.

The success of this entire technical framework hinges on the effective implementation of solid waste management. Public habits and the practice of discarding refuse wherever one pleases play the primary role in choking gutters and drains. Therefore, mechanical screens and robust iron grates—trash racks—must be installed at the primary mouths of wastewater and stormwater drains to prevent plastic shopping bags, bottles, and solid trash from entering main pipelines and drains. Alongside this, the strictest enforcement of severe financial penalties and legal punishments must be applied against those who dump garbage and refuse into drains, leaving no room for lawlessness.

Gujrat is not merely a lifeless city of bricks, cement, and mortar; it is a vibrant civilization, a magnificent history, and a land that breathes through the relentless toil of its inhabitants. This city has stood as the identity of this region for centuries, but until genuine administrative reforms are enacted within this archaic colonial bureaucratic framework and local governments are empowered, bringing improvement to institutions will remain an illusion.

If the district administration, municipal bodies, and authorities fail to abandon their habits of negligence and carelessness, and refuse to take revolutionary steps by understanding the historical geography of this city—particularly the depressions and elevations surrounding the Akbari Fort—through a scientific lens, every coming monsoon will push this historic city further toward ruin and decay. The time has come to step outside the endless loop of paperwork, dusty files, and traditional rhetoric to forge a stable, prudent, and technical revolution rooted in concrete ground realities. Otherwise, approaching history and the soil of Gujrat will never forgive this criminal negligence.