10 Ramazan Delights

Karachi’s (re)calling Dr. Ishrat ul Ebad

On Sunday April 22, almost entire Karachi suffered 10-hour load shedding, which was unscheduled and unexpected. Next day Prime Minister Khaqan Abbasi arrived in Karachi, held meeting with KESC and SSGC officials but came out without any concrete solution. Though, the PM assured Karachites the issue of electricity would resolve in 15 days and directed the SSGC to resume required gas supply to KESC, besides forming a committee headed under Muftah Ismail to settle the issue of outstanding dues between KESC and SSGC. The fact is nothing was resolved and power crisis exists till this date in scorching weather.   

Earlier last month when milk crisis appeared in metropolis, all the city admins including Commissioner Karachi and KMC were unable to tame milk farmers, who increased milk prices at will and nobody had a clue how to deal with the situation. The result is local consumers are bound to purchase milk on inflated rates.

The Karachites, therefore, really have a sense of deprivation and complain lack of representation in provincial and federal set-ups, and specially in decision making related to Karachi. The cabinets of provincial governments in 2008 and 2013 hardly had any legislative member elected from Karachi. However, the sense of deprivation accelerated with the departure of the last representative of Karachi from decisional set-up some 15 months ago. Though Governorship is a ceremonial post but the fact is, due to the rural-urban dynamics of Sindh, the slot of Governorship has been traditionally filled through any citizen of Karachi. The most populated and biggest city of Pakistan was represented in national or provincial set-up via Sindh Governor and its residents have been relying on the channel of Governorship to address their problems and get them solved.

Thanks to law enforcement agencies, the crime rate has declined and security situation is improved in the city. In spite a representational vacuum still persists which depicts the shallowness of the society. It is hard to digest but the truth is Karachi is in state of inertia since few years. A series of socio-civic and administrative problems are haunting the city. And, more than one and half dozen civic bodies are blaming each other for these crises instead of devising to resolve something. Water’ scarcity and contamination, sanitation overflow and encroached drains, gross solid waste mismanagement, transport and traffic jams, unchecked migration and rising of unregularized Goths, as well as health and environmental devastation on the name of development projects in the city, the list goes on and on. No system and developmental mechanism exists, so the result is, half of the city is dug-up, green cover is vanished and hospitals are over-capacitated. A chaos is rampant in the city, which seems aimless and endless.

Now who is to blame and come out to solve these issues at present. Provincial Government and district metropolitan corporations are not at speaking terms with each other. On the other hand Sindh Government blames federal government for delaying funds in development projects. The CM walked out from National Economic Council meeting citing reservations on development programs. Pace of federal government projects like K-IV and Rapid Mass Transit System is slow and complains of lack of cooperation from local and provincial authorities have been surfaced. The KCR has been shelved once again because of conflicts between provincial and federal government and one doubts the project would never see the daylight. Cantonment areas and DMCs have administrative heads from diverse political groups, who have little care for their subjects and involved in pity issues. Most importantly all these civic agencies lack cooperation and coordination because of which aimless schemes of basic amenities are at halt or in chaotic conditions.  And, there is no one who can advocate Karachi.   

Although, all these things don’t come in the domain of Sindh Governorship, but very fewer former Governors like Dr. Ishrat ul Ebad was such man, who was capable to coordinate things in diversities. He did command respect in all civic bodies, kept pace up with everyone, resolve dispute among institutions and on him all the social communities of the metropolis like businessmen, traders, shopkeepers, religious scholars, NGOs, legislative and administrative bodies trusted and complied to him. In reality, the dynamics of the megacity is different from other cities of Pakistan and can be best addressed only by a representative, belonged to this city.  Very few deny, that if Dr. Ishrat ul Ebad were still the Governor of Sindh, not only the present power crisis or milk problem would have been better addressed but to a certain extent resolved too in the interest of public. He really mastered in resolving such emergencies.

Dr. Ishrat served more than 14 years as Governor of Sindh, the longest serving Governor of Pakistan. His era has arguably been a constructive era for Karachi, when residents here used to feel some sort of sense of representation in decisional set-up. Dr. Ishrat also had some better qualities to lead.  Managing a megacity is not an easy job. There are ethnic communities, religious groups, trader associations, political parties, business tycoons, educationists, NGOs. But he had the capability to console and craft a win-win situation for everyone. Hardly anyone came back dissatisfied after meeting with him.   

No doubt, the present Governor Muhammad Zubair is also a very dedicated and nice person. But he has hardly succeeded in resolving crisis between political governments and among civil institutions in emergency situations. Though it is questionable why Governor House in Sindh today serves as a political drawing room which showcases peoples are joining his party PML(N) and taking oath from party president. That didn’t happen during the tenure of Dr. Ebad or even any other Pakistani Governor era. Yet, Muhammad Zubair is working hard and has proved to be a good person. But is he good enough for Karachi, one reserves his comments.

By

Editorial, Infocus 

Karachi’ Storm Water Drains

How Karachi can benefit from Moringa Tree

Around the world, big cities are to face bigger urban challenges in terms of health, food and security, by keeping their environment and recreation sustainable. Karachi is no exception. The air and atmosphere of the megacity is polluted, water and agriculture are contaminated and the traffic mismanagement is at alarming level where carbon emissions have densely affected the urban sphere.

Haphazard constructions in the last ten to fifteen years have further destroyed the environment due to deforestation. Approximately a hundred thousand trees have been chopped down only at Sharah e Faisal, University Road and construction of Green Line Bus Rapid Line during the last year. That bleak scenario now demands from Karachi’ authorities including Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) and all Cantonment Boards to go for afforestation drives and increase the green cover of the city.  

The “Miracle Tree” Moringa can play a beneficial and healthy role in this regard. The tree has enormous horticultural, medicinal as well as commercial benefits, which can transform the Karachi city. It is an efficient, affordable, easy and accessible solution against malnutrition. Besides taking up it as nourishing vegetable, the leaves, pulp and seeds of Moringa, it’s powder and other numerous products including cooking oil all are valuable solutions under one roof.  

More importantly Moringa suits and well fits on Karachi’ present needs and demands. It needs little water and horticultural maintenance. Moringa is an indigenous specie, much-needed in the city’ landscape to purify the atmosphere. Although, the urban forestry of Karachi is comprised of some important indigenous trees like Banyan, Peepal, Neem, Lignum and etc. But it is irony the city has more environment-unfriendly trees like Eucalyptus and Conocorpus which alien species, planted by civic administration in the last three decades as roadside plantation, in green belts and even in public parks. Karachi, as a matter of fact, needs green cover of indigenous trees and Moringa can lessen the unfriendly impacts of alien species.

 A civic drive to introduce and induct Moringa can be a good addition on city horticultural landscape. However, because of lack of space for cultivation in the city, Moringa should be inducted wisely in Karachi. The city administration can develop Moringa forests in the outskirts of the city, which will play a significant and healthy role in the betterment of city troposphere, important for raising chances of rainfall as well as deterring the heat island effects in Karachi. Here, these forests can also be used as urban agriculture from which the local government can earn a sizable revenue.

The KMC can run an awareness and free distribution campaign of Moringa revealing the benefits of tree and give free plants to people to grow it in their houses or do rooftop plantation that will not only increase the green cover of the city but also maintain a cooling atmosphere, affected by pollution and green house effect. In public parks good amount of Moringa can be planted to make recreational places green and healthy.

Hope, the KMC and Cantonments are going through these lines.

By

Editorial, Infocus

Disposal Hospital waste in Karachi

Goth and Katchi Abadis in Karachi

Milk Karachi org