IF one really wants to know what is the cost that the people of Karachi pay for the so-called development in the city, one must visit Gulshan-i-Iqbal’s block 13-D/1 area, which is seriously affected by the ‘development work’ that is being carried out across University Road for the last several years.
Daily commute is a huge challenge faced by the residents as there is no immediate respite in sight. Making matters worse is the work on K-4 water pipeline project. The whole scenario is rather bleak as no development project in the city has ever had any specific completion deadline.
As a matter of fact, there is no concept of environmental assessment and impact before the start of any project, which leads to chaos in surrounding roads and streets, which are already in a bad shape.
Those who are officially supposed to manage such situations prefer to project their ‘performance’ on social media. The biggest disappointment, however, is how the routine maintenance work is carried out; simple tasks are made difficult. As such, a case in point is the cleaning of sewerage lines on Sehba Akhtar Road using obsolete methodology. The age-old phenomenon of placing all the garbage and filth right beside the sewers adds to the problems of commuters and area residents alike.
There is a great deal of talk about mental health these days, but no one pays much attention to the mental torture the people in Karachi are constantly subjected to. They simply have no idea when their misery will be over and why they are being punished in the name of ‘development’.
ANJUM AMIN SIDDIQUI
KARACHI
