Street Iftars return to port city

Volunteers can once again be seen facilitating meals for the city’s fasting population

KARACHI:

Despite its rough edges, the port city is known for its generosity, which seems to multiply in the month of Ramazan. During this time every street corner and footpath turns into a food bank and Iftar and Sehri drives arranged by citizens leave no stone unturned to make sure that everyone has access to the two meals.

However, the practice had hit a snag in the last two years under Covid-19, when pandemic-related restrictions made it difficult to arrange mass food drives and other congregational activities. This year, with the government’s decision to lift all restrictions of the past, the food drives have once again returned in full swing to the megacity.

The highways that had fallen silent in the last two years have once again become abuzz with charity workers rushing to distribute iftar packages among commuters and all in need, in a bid to make sure that everyone gets to break their fast.

According to Aslam, who is a resident of Karachi’s PIB Colony, these Iftar drives are a feature of the city that was muted during the pandemic. “There were still a lot of welfare projects taking place, but all the big food drives had to be postponed. It’s great to see that we haven’t lost our spirit of charity despite our city’s circumstances. All our street Iftar drives that were closed during the pandemic have come into practice in full swing as soon as the government lifted the restrictions,” he told.

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Aslam believes that street Iftar drives, other than being an act of charity, are also a part of Karachi’s vibrant culture and promote a sense of community and togetherness in a city that is otherwise polarised. “More than that, they are fun and quite humbling.

Be it the rich or the poor, anyone who’s out of their homes during Iftar hours can come to break bread and no one cares. We all sit on the floor, on a dastarkhwan, and are handed meal boxes lovingly prepared by volunteers,” said Aslam, who believes that such activities are also a great way of interacting with the city folk.

These community Iftar meals are funded entirely by philanthropists, NGOs, and private donours and are facilitated by volunteers that mostly include students from colleges and universities. “This is a daily practice. We start around 3:00 PM and are busy arranging the Iftar right until the Maghrib Azan goes off. Our meal boxes include seasonal fruits, that are either donated or have to be bought. Other than that, we have a couple of savory items like pakoras and samosas that come from the bakery, in addition to dates, a bottle of water, and a pack of juice. All of that together costs around Rs100-130 per box,” a student associated with a private Iftar drive in the city told The Express Tribune.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 9^th, 2022.