KARACHI:
Ask any child in Gambat where they play, and many will point to a dusty street, a narrow lane or a rooftop. Ask the elderly where they sit in the cool of the evening, and most will say, with a quiet smile: nowhere. A town can have fine hospitals, schools and markets and still lack the one place where its people simply breathe, meet and rest. Gambat is such a town.
A public park is not a luxury. It is a basic part of civic life. Children need safe, open space to run, because play shapes their health and confidence. Families, women in particular, need a respectable, secure place to gather in the evening. Elderly citizens need shade and a bench to walk and talk with neighbours. In a region where summers are punishing, even a modest cluster of trees can make the surrounding air a little cooler and make the town a little kinder.
There is a deeper need too. Many people carry the weight of daily hardship: rising prices, uncertain work and long hours. A green space gives them a pause. Strangers become neighbours, and young people find a better place to spend their time than idle street corners. A town that has no shared space slowly forgets how to be a community.
I therefore appeal to the Town Municipal Administration, the district administration and our elected representatives to identify suitable land and develop a public park with trees, walking paths, seating, clean drinking water, a children’s play area and proper lighting. Residents and local organisations can help by looking after it, because a park thrives when the community feels it belongs to them.
The cost of a park is small. The cost of going without one is paid every day, by every child who has nowhere to play.
Parkash Kumar
Gambat
