Metropolis to continue to suffer stepchild treatment
An aerial view of Karachi city. PHOTO: AFP
As the nation welcomes 2024 with reignited spirits, locals in Karachi still cry over the same unnerving issues, as a lack of attention given by the government to the completion and upgradation of fundamental development projects has turned the banal idea of driving on smooth and clean roads, travelling through public transport and drinking safe water, into a fanciful hallucination.
With 2023 behind us, looking retrospectively at the developments made during the past one year, regrettably brings to light the unsatisfactory progress observed in the course of several infrastructural, transport, water and waste disposal projects, which till date remain in limbo, depriving the disgruntled populace of the largest revenue generating province, their right to a decent standard of living.
"The anger of people in Karachi has become unswerving. The water crisis, lack of public transport, piling of garbage, pollution, broken roads and street crime alongside soaring inflation and peaking unemployment, have all intensified citizens' mistrust of the state and its associated institutions. While many people are leaving the country, those who cannot afford to immigrate might not be able to contain their resentment for too long and a disruptive uprising similar to the 1980's and 1990's might become inevitable," predicted Dr Tauseef Ahmed Khan, renowned columnist and Professor at the Mass Communication Department of the Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science & Technology (FUUAST), who implored the government toimmediately take concrete steps towards completing the pending initiatives in 2024.
Despite the fact that a large city like Karachi with a population of 30 million people, needs at least 8000 big buses, outright neglect of the public transport system has led to a reduction in the number of buses from 6000 to 2500 alongside the closure of almost 400 public transport routes during the past one and half decades.
Moreover, newly announced projects like the Green Line Bus Rapid Transit Project, Orange Line Bus Project and Red Line Bus Project are still either in need of upgradation or completion.
Similarly, due to a non-disbursement of funds, the Sindh government has not been able to complete even a single water project as the K-IV project and 65 MGD plan alongside its distribution line continue to remain pending.
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Additionally, much of Karachi's connective infrastructure including the MA Jinnah Road, New MA Jinnah Road, SM Taufiq Road, Shahrah-e-Pakistan, Rashid Minhas Road, University Road, Altaf Barelvi Road, Nishtar Road, Jail Road, Jamshed Road, Hakim Ibn-e-Sina, Sher Shah Suri Road, Garden Road, MT Khan Road, Hub River Road, Korangi Industrial Area Road, Karsaz Road, and Pir Sibghatullah Shah Rashdi Road among dozens of other internal roads and streets have been in a dilapidated state for years.
To make matters worse, the shabby roads are overflowing with filth since almost 18,000 tons of waste is generated in the city, out of which only 8,000 to 10,000 tons of waste is collected and disposed of at the landfill site by 18 government institutions in the city, alongside one entrusted Chinese and one Turkish waste disposal company.
According to Hafiz Naeemur-Rehman, leader of the opposition in the Council of the Supreme Municipality Karachi and Ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami Karachi, the federal and provincial governments have always treated Karachi as a stepchild. "All of the major parties have remained in power, but Karachi's problems could not be solved. Banners for new projects are put up for the sake of political mobilization but no progress is made for their completion. As a result, Karachi's locals are suffering from mental exasperation," he added.
"It is a pity that no master plan has been prepared for Karachi's development till date and neither the elected representatives nor the local bodies have been empowered to act independently. Until or unless the legislative institutions take concrete steps in this regard, the city's problems will not be solved till doomsday," opined Dr Syed Nawaz Al Huda, a regional planner.
In an attempt to inquire further on the matter, The Express Tribune tried contacting Murtaza Wahab, the Mayor of Karachi, but no response was given.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 4th, 2024.