Hitting steel bottom

What do pedestrian bridges, electric poles, underground cables and vehicle bridges all have in common in Karachi? Apart from being critical urban infrastructure, all of these structures are vandalised by drug-addled citizens looking for a way to source their fix.

When Karachi is called a 'broken' city, sometimes it's meant in a literal manner. Multiple bridges across the town have missing pieces of steel rods, fences and safety nets - all stolen in the dead of the night by the very drug addicts found sleeping around these structures in the daytime. From the Natha Khan bridge at Shahra-e-Faisal to the Jam Sadiq bridge in the Korangi industrial area and now the Teen Hatti bridge as per recent reports – none has been spared. All these structures have been made vulnerable due to vandalism and theft.

It is quite obvious that repair work after theft will only lead to more repair work. The constant surveillance of urban infrastructure just so it is not destroyed or stolen is neither a feasible option nor is it a sustainable one. Until and unless drug addiction is not treated as a major contributing factor to the destruction of bridges that thousands of vehicles rely on daily, the passing public will remain vulnerable to what could very well be a highly deadly incident.

Efforts to repair these bridges are not founded on a significant question: If you deter addicts from stealing, where will they get their money from? It might not be the state's responsibility to provide money for an addict's fix, but it definitely is its responsibility to ensure that they are treated as vulnerable members of society who require sustained rehabilitation followed by employment opportunities and guidance, so they do not relapse. The only plan of action required to fix infrastructure is one that fixes the city's drug problem. But unfortunately, Karachi remains far from this realisation.