Sit at any tea store or marriage ceremony on this metropolis, and you’ll hear the identical nostalgic sentence: “Karachi was once so lovely. It was the Metropolis of Lights.”
But when we’re trustworthy and if we glance again 35 or 40 years with out rose-tinted glasses, this so-called “Golden Period” appears like a delusion we inform ourselves to really feel higher. The reality is tougher to swallow: Karachi has by no means actually had a plan. It has by no means been managed by individuals who perceive magnificence or order. This metropolis has all the time grown out of “necessity,” by no means out of “design.”
The First Impression: An Embarrassing Welcome: Earlier than we discuss in regards to the coronary heart of the town, let’s have a look at its entrance door. The primary impression is the lasting one. But, have a look at our entry factors.
When a visitor lands at Jinnah Worldwide Airport or steps off a prepare at Cantt Station, what’s their first view? It isn’t a contemporary metropolis. It’s muddle, encroachments, and particles. Our highways, which needs to be the delight of the town, are lined with mud and trash. If we will’t even preserve our “welcome mats” clear, now we have already misplaced the battle for the town’s picture.
The Delusion of the “Good Outdated Days: Individuals deal with the Karachi of the 70s and 80s as if it had been Paris. It wasn’t. Even then, the slums (Katchi Abadis) had been in dangerous form. Open drains and overflowing gutters had been widespread in 1980, simply as they’re in 2026.
The one distinction is that again then, the inhabitants was smaller, so the filth was simpler to cover. Immediately, with thousands and thousands extra individuals, the odor is unimaginable to disregard. The rot isn’t new; it has simply develop into too huge to comb beneath the rug.
The Dying of Style (Aesthetics): The town’s greatest tragedy is that our planners and contractors appear to have zero sense of magnificence. You may see it within the colours they select. Take a look at our bridges and authorities buildings painted in surprising yellows and mismatched blacks that harm the eyes. It doesn’t look developed; it appears low cost.
Take a stroll in Hill Park. The pond there could possibly be an exquisite spot for households. As an alternative, it’s filthy. It’s a mirror displaying how little we care about our leisure spots. Even once we spend cash on costly paver blocks for footpaths, they appear ugly as a result of the laborers aren’t educated to complete the job correctly. It appears damaged earlier than it’s even used.
Overworked and outdated: Now we have the Sindh Strong Waste Administration Board (SSWMB), however watching them work is exhausting. The system suffers from “fatigue.” The employees look overburdened, and their strategies are outdated. Until we modernize how they work and make their jobs simpler, the division will stay gradual, and the town will stay buried beneath trash.
Festivals: A Cause to Clear Up: A contented metropolis is a busy metropolis. We’d like extra cultural and seasonal festivals, not only for enjoyable, however as a result of festivals pressure the federal government to work.
You can not maintain a literature pageant or a carnival if the bottom is flooded or the bathrooms are damaged. We have to be taught to have fun our seasons. In the remainder of the world, rain is a blessing; right here, it’s a curse (zahmat). If we deliberate festivals across the monsoon or spring, the administration could be pressured to repair the drainage and parks to make the occasion occur. Tradition can drive growth.
The Actual Answer: Publicity and Management: Our colleges train topics, however they don’t train “civic sense.” We aren’t educating our children that holding a avenue clear is a part of our religion and civilization.
Moreover, our decision-makers want publicity. They should journey to not sit in VIP conferences however to stroll the streets of Japan or the UAE to see how they preserve public bathrooms and trains. We’d like a “Household Go to” check: Each Minister and bureaucrat needs to be required to go to a public park with their household as soon as each six months with out protocol.
After they must stroll on the damaged footpaths and odor the open gutters personally, solely then will they really feel the urgency to repair them.
Conclusion: Cities don’t develop into lovely by magic; they must be made lovely. A metropolis is sort of a backyard. In the event you don’t prune it, it turns into a wild jungle. That’s what occurred to Karachi.
We have to cease crying a couple of misplaced paradise that by no means actually existed. As an alternative, we have to train the subsequent era the artwork of residing. If we don’t, our id shall be buried endlessly beneath piles of concrete and dirt.
