‘Illegal’ permission for yet another commercial activity at Frere Hall

Another food festival to happen in gardens of heritage site this weekend

KARACHI: Not long ago, Karachi Mayor Wasim Akhtar raised hue and cry when the Sindh government handed over the iconic Bagh Ibne Qasim to Bahira town for ‘commercial use’. He has now granted permission for yet another commercial activity in Bagh-e-Jinnah, surrounding the Frere Hall.

Frere Hall gardens, known as Bagh-e-Jinnah, fall under the administrative control of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC). They have become famous for hosting the city's various food festivals. It appears though that permission granted to the organisers may be illegal.

After the successful conclusion of the annual Karachi Eat Festival (KEF) 2017, the KMC is all set to hold another food festival, called ‘Pakistan Ka Dastarkhwan’ (PKD) this weekend.



This food festival will have Rs1,675 entry fee unlike the KEF's, which was Rs500.

Notifications

According to a notification issued by the Sindh government's services and general administration department on November 23, 1998, there is a ban on the use of public parks and gardens falling within the administrative control of the KMC or the Karachi Development Authority (KDA) for private events.

"It has come to the knowledge of the officials that parks and gardens falling within the administrative control of the KMC and KDA or any other civic body are being hired and used for weddings and other events in spite of the ban," read the notification. It added that under no circumstances will permission to use public parks and gardens be granted for private functions.

Another notification from the Sindh's local government department in June 1998, says that Bagh-e-Jinnah and Gulshan-e-Jinnah, being the prestigious parks of Karachi, should not be allowed for holding of functions except state functions, functions of high importance where foreign diplomats are required to attend, functions where president, prime minister, governor and chief minister are attending as chief guest and for flower show.



An official of the Brand Engage Group of Companies, which is holding the PKD event, told The Express Tribune that they are bringing all of Pakistan's famous eateries on one platform, where people can enjoy the buffet at a cost of Rs1675, which is also the entry fee.

The official, however, said that they would use the pavement portion of the Frere Hall and try their best not to use the garden area, especially where flowers are planted.

Meanwhile, KMC's senior director of sports, culture and recreation, Saif Abbas, insisted the notification has no legal standing now as the KMC's city council had passed a resolution later that allowed Frere Hall gardens to be used for such festivals. However, he did not provide a copy of the resolution.



Such festivals, he said, are taking place at the Frere Hall since four years. "This is the first time that the KMC is charging for such festival and earning something," he said, adding that the food festival is a recreational activity not commercial.

When asked why they were charging such heavy fees, he said that usually residents of Defence Housing Authority and Clifton make their way to this park and they can afford such fees. "The KMC isn't holding the festival, a private company is," he said, added that had the KMC been holding it, it wouldn't have charged any entry fee.

On a question regarding reservations over Bagh Ibne Qasim being handed over to Bahria Town, he said  the Sindh government had allowed Bahria Town to construct its parking space, including shopping plaza, inside the park, which was a purely commercial activity.

Last time

An official of the KMC's parks and horticulture department told The Express Tribune that trucks were ruthlessly plying over the grass of Bagh-e-Jinnah after the conclusion of KEF this year to wrap up their installed material inside the park. "The poles were broken and the grass completely died out," the official said.



Every year, permission is granted for the festival to take place on the pavement portion but it covers the entire lawn area, destroying the beauty of the park just for commercial gains, he said.

Even Akhtar admitted to electronic media at the time of KEF that there was some negligence on part of the KMC when it granted permission for the festival to be held beyond the pavement portion.

As for the PKD, Akhtar was not available for comments.