When asked as to how Karachi’s civic problems could be solved,a foreign expert in town planning, not long ago,remarked : demolish the whole city and rebuild it.Truer words were never spoken.
Not only roads of Karachi but of many other cities turn into veritable ponds even after a slight drizzle.There is something inherent wrong in their designing and construction as well of new residential colonies which have sprung up like mushrooms,which means the departments responsible for their construction and issuance of NOCs have not been doing their work according to engineering rules .The general public is also to be blamed for not properly binning the daily waste of their houses which is thrown by them in the water drains which get choked as a result of which the water’s natural course is blocked and it overflows on the roads.The polythene shopping bags also block the water courses.One wonders what precludes the government from legislating on the issue and banning their use?
Let us admit that the performance of those whose job it is to look after the civic amenities of the people leaves much to be desired.Proper Cleanliness ,drainage system,Supply of potable water, encroachment on public parks.In short everything has gone haywire.Nothing seems to be working properly The Fire brigades are in a bad shape and don’t work hundred percent properly in time of need.The authorities don’t have the necessary wherewithal and machinery to pull out the stranded residents of high rise building should they are caught in the raging fire.The government has held elections to the local bodies after it was snubbed by the supreme court as to why it had dragged its feet over the election of local bodies which is a constitutional requirement .Powers to these elected bodies are,however,
not being given which is unfortunate The government should at once empower them so that they get down to the task of providing basic civic amenities to the people .