Food for thought: ‘We need parks, not buildings’

Protesters use sports to decry illegal occupation of public spaces

KARACHI: Karachiites came up with a novel way to protest illegal occupation on Sunday when they held cricket, table tennis, football and basketball matches on one of the city’s main arteries, Five Star Roundabout, on Shershah Suri Road.

The protesters comprised residents of North Nazimabad’s Block I and members of civil society, all of whom demanded the immediate vacation of Madni Ground, a local ground used for recreational activities that has been illegally occupied by a ‘land mafia’ and is being used for commercial purposes.

On one side of the road, labourers working on the Green Line Bus Rapid Transit project stopped to stare in shock as the protesters, men, women and children alike, shouted slogans against the government while holding placards with slogans such as ‘Land Mafia Shame Shame’, ‘Let us Play’ and ‘Karachi needs Parks not Buildings’.

One of the organisers of the protest, Arif Baqai, said that it has been two years that people suddenly constructed a boundary wall around the ground. Later, children were banned from entering the ground to play. He added that these grounds are considered to be safer than the street for children to play and parents often accompanied their offspring to the ground to keep an eye on them. Baqai said that usually the ground also played host to wedding events, for which contractors would charge thousands of rupees.

Another protester, Mrs Nauman, said that for the purpose of entertainment, one does not always go to cinemas or amusement parks. Instead, they go to nearby parks and playgrounds. She said that it is sad to see the city transforming into a concrete jungle and mentioned that many of the playgrounds she grew up seeing in the city have now been converted into high-rise plazas.

Holding a loudspeaker in his hand, 14-year-old Adeel Muhammad was inviting the passers-by to join him in the protest by playing table tennis, cricket or any other game they liked.

Muhammad said that his parents only allowed him to go and play at the ground but ever since it had been closed for children, he was forced to play on his roof.

Another organiser, Aale Hassan, said that the protest is not only about Madni Ground, there are many grounds in North Nazimabad that have been either converted into high-rise plazas or have been given to private contractors who ask for around Rs4,000 to Rs5,000 for a 20-over cricket match, which no one can afford on a daily basis.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 9^th, 2017.