Islamabad; Enemy of its Own Environs

It seems the only enemy left before Islamabad now is it’s own green cover, as the capital doesn’t want to give any space for trees and greenery in its limitation. Either chopped down on the name of development or set to fire by unknown people, flora of any kind really has no future in Islamabad. The result is obvious. For continuous three weeks in May 2018, Islamabad soared above 40 degrees when outdoor mobility got extremely difficult. That led the Met Office DG Dr Ghulam Rasul to believe the prolonged heat spell without any rainfall was unusual for Islamabad.

Since the last couple of years, incidents of chopping down trees have been a routine phenomenon of the capital environment woes. Some 750 fully grown and decades-old trees, 3800 small trees along with several shurbs were cut down during the construction of Metro Bus project in 2015. Then same year in July more than 300 trees of mulberry, pear and other fruits rooted out gain for the expansion of Islamabad Expressway.

In May 2017 according to NESPAK around a thousand trees of upto 100 years became prey to Metro Bus Service extension from Peshawar Morr to connect the city from the New Islamabad International Airport.  In October last year the CDA cut down around 250 trees at Embassy Road for the expansion of vehicular traffic movement. Earlier unaccounted trees were also chopped along the Attaturk Road only to further lanes. On the other hand, Ahsan Iqbal briefed in Senate this year that thousands of paper mulberry trees are yet be rooted out from Islamabad because these trees are causing health problems.

Beside untapped cutting of trees in capital the fire incidents at Margalla Hills National Park is a routine exercise since a half decade. The site is an expensive tract at the foothills of the greater Himalayas, alongside Shakarparian Park and Rawal Lake. Established in 1980, the Park covers 67.13 square miles and rich in biodiversity of fauna and flora.

Only in the month of May in 2016 eight wildfires were reported while in April next year over three acres of forest was burnt in a single fire incident. This year on 31^st March fire broke out behind Daman e Koh of the Margala Hills and ruined three to four acres of land in a single day. Then four incidents held in April reducing hundreds of acres of pristine land and flora to cinders.    

Then in May two different fires broke out behind Saidpur Village and Daman e Koh point and spread over ten to twelve acres. Since the first week of June a wildfire has been raging and turned uncountable trees into ashes. This is recorded as the worst fire incident which has affected more than six hectares of land. Most of trees were of pine which take decades to get developed and fully grown.

Usually these incidents occur between April 15 and July 15 when temperature is high. However, it is widely believed these trees are deliberately torched every year by timber mafia and hunters.  First the trees are cut and then the area is torched to cover up the crime.

Does the city really needs any more enemy?

By

Editorial, Infocus

Advertising Walls for "Defense Purpose". Lol.

We are living in a consumer world, where pricing rules over principles. When walls of Karachi’ most important Christians’ graveyard are rented out to use for advertising Muslims’ TV Ramzan shows, perhaps it says everything about justifying absurdity of billboards and outdoor publicity.

But the most driveling justification for these outdoor publicity walls came from the horses’ mouth. The CEO of Karachi Cantonment Board says before apex court that these “walls were built for defence purpose”. One wonders for defence purpose trenches can be dug around garrison areas but constructing walls have no purpose. On the other hand, the former PPP-led government dug the city on the name of development in a way that even Pakistan’ worst enemy would think it worthless to land in the city.

Second, does a nuclear power really needs concrete walls for defence? If yes, then without delay even bigger advertising walls must be built across the country. Forget fencing at borders build concrete walls and advertise any cooking oil or telecom product to save country rom evil’s eye. Forget armed personals and hire good copywriters who could write or develop tempting campaigns for markets.   

The CEO of Karachi Cantonment actually didn’t clarify what does he mean from “defense purpose”. Neither he had idea about what he had to defend before apex court. One can guess he meant to defend the consumer base. No body wants to lose customers in a megacity. Karachi really is a competitive market where only the fittest can survive. The Cantonments and Defence Authorities are really the fittest party and they don’t need to hide behind walls.

By

Editorial, Infocus      

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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.

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Editorial, Infocus 

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