Karachi – Survived against all odds

In history, present-day Karachi was known to the ancient Greeks by many names: Krokola, the place where Alexander the Great camped to prepare a fleet for Babylonia after his campaign in the Indus Valley; 'Morontobara' (probably Manora Island near Karachi harbor). It was later known to the Arabs as Debal from where Muhammad bin Qasim led his conquering force into South Asia in 712 AD. Tribes from Sindh and Baluchistan established a small fishing community in Kolachi, later named Karachi. Descendants of the original community still live in the area on the small island of Abdullah Goth, which is located near the Karachi Port. The original name "Kolachi" survives in the name of a well-known Karachi locality named "Mai Kolachi" in Sindh. The Mughal administrator of Sindh, Mirza Ghazi Beg was credited as the first historical figure for the development of Coastal Sindh (consisting of regions such as the Makran Coast and the Mehran Delta), including the cities of Thatta, Bhambore, and Karachi. As the city start to spread, therefore the first form of government was the conservancy board established in 1846 to control cholera in the city. The board became a municipal commission in 1852 and a municipal committee the following year. The City of Karachi Municipal Act of 1933 transformed the city administration into a municipal corporation with a mayor, a deputy mayor, and 57 councilors. In 1948, the Federal Capital Territory of Pakistan was created; comprising approximately 2,103 km2 (812 sq mi) of Karachi and surrounding areas. In 1976, the city becomes a metropolitan corporation, followed by the creation of zonal municipal committees, which lasted until 1994. Two years later the metropolitan area was divided into five districts, each with a municipal corporation. At the time of the partition, Karachi had slightly less than half a million inhabitants. In 1947 Sindhis and Sindhi-speaking Baloch formed about 62% of the population of Karachi while Urdu speaking was only about 6%. However, by 1951 the population of Karachi had increased to 1.14 million due to the influx of refugees and the ethnic mix had changed dramatically. Karachi became the Capital of newborn Pakistan and in the nineteen fifties; the population of Sindhis was reduced while Urdu Speaking had grown to 58% of the city’s population. According to the official census of the country, which was held in 2017, the linguistic distribution of the city was:?Urdu: 42.30%;?Punjabi: 10.73%;?Pashto: 15.01%;?Sindhi: 10.67%;?Balochi: 4.04%;?Saraiki: 4.97%; others: 7.02%. The others include Dari, Gujrati, Dawoodi, Bohra, Memoon, Marwari, Brahui, Khowar, Burushaski, Arabic, Farsi, and Bengali.

The country’s largest stock exchange is Karachi-based, making it the financial and commercial center of the country as well. Karachi contributes 25% of the national GDP, adds 45% of the national value-added, retains 40% of the national employment in large-scale manufacturing, holds 50% of bank deposits, and contributes 25% of national revenues and 40% of provincial revenues. Its population which is estimated between 18 and 21million people makes it a major resource for the educated and uneducated labor market in the country. By its conduct, Karachi is Cosmopolitan but still a metropolitan City. Karachi seems to have been failing in making its mark even as a metropolitan city where multiple identities forsake their relevance and are dissolved to establish a neo-urban society, the prime objective of which is to let its members shed their prejudices and make their collective living possible. Ideally, Karachi is supposed to act as a melting pot where ethnic diversity loses its bearing and the sole Karachiite's identity emerges. Instead, in Karachi, the notion of strength in diversity is in jeopardy. Local governments exist in the city but don’t work because they are politically expedient rather simply because they have been shown to produce the desired result of direct democracy. Large cities (e.g New York City and Chicago) are managed through local administrative bodies and the mayor has broad executive powers. Even national capitals (e.g London) have powerful mayoral offices that ensure citizen participation in the functioning of the metropolis. Mumbai — sometimes compared with Karachi in terms of key characteristics like population size — has a municipal commissioner who is appointed by the Maharashtra state government, but it is unthinkable for the state government to do so if it has virtually no representation in Mumbai.

The Karachi Economic and health problem become adverse day by day. It has multiplied due to poor road infrastructure in the city which is continuously challenged by back-to-back spells of heavy monsoon rains. Craters and potholes have developed on all major roads and streets in every part of Karachi. The monsoon rains have severely damaged the drainage and sewerage systems in the city, creating serious problems for motorists. This left the vehicle owners to spend large sums of money on vehicle repairs and maintenance even though inflation in Pakistan is skyrocketing. Top bureaucrat of Sindh, Dr. Sohail Rajput, during an interaction with the concerned city’s businessmen at Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry said the provincial government had also allocated Rs 2.5 billion for the repair of damaged roads and civic infrastructure of the provincial capital.?Pakistan is now a $300-billion economy. Hospitals and healthcare facilities, especially in Karachi, are in a poor state. Most of these sectors are suffering due to inadequate maintenance of infrastructure and weak governance capability. Karachi is the most urbanized city in Pakistan. The unplanned urbanization poses a serious challenge because of institutional inefficiency and governance failure According to research on Solid Waste Management in Karachi conducted by Dr. Mansoor Ali Arif Hassan?(Pakistani architect and planner, activist, teacher, social researcher and writer).?

Further as per the report of World Bank Group, “Transforming Karachi into a Livable and Competitive Megacity”,?Karachi is experiencing a water and sanitation crisis that stems largely from poor governance. Financing for this sector is typically ad-hoc and aimed at addressing immediate needs, rather than long-term goals. Only 55 percent of water requirements are met daily. Rationing is widespread, and leakages and large scale theft is common. Non-revenue water can be as high as 60%, compared to 30% in Ho Chi Minh City and 17% in Manila. Many households rely on private vendors who sell water from tankers at high prices. Less than 60 percent of the population has access to public sewerage, and almost all raw sewage is discharged untreated into the sea, including hazardous and industrial effluent. Less than half of estimated solid waste is collected and transported to open dump sites, resulting in a major public health hazard. Unclear roles, overlapping functions, and poor coordination amongst various agencies responsible for city governance and management have worsened the city’s problems. Municipal and city development functions are highly fragmented, with roughly 20 agencies across different levels of government – Federal, Provincial and local – performing these functions, leading to lack of coordinated planning and integration at the city level. These agencies also control nearly 90 percent of land in Karachi, but are reluctant to make it available for development. Public investment in infrastructure is reactive and uncoordinated, with a persistent focus on extension over preventive maintenance or rehabilitation. Elected local governments in the city have weak systems and capacity; and are not empowered to deliver many municipal functions. The provincial government retains substantial control over various city services and functions, such as master planning, building control, water and sewerage, solid waste management and development of peri-urban and peripheral lands. Local governments are in an extremely weak financial position, relying almost solely on transfers from the provincial government to meet their budgetary needs, of which a majority is spent on salaries and pensions – leaving precious little for much-needed maintenance or development of infrastructure."?

Pakistan in its 75 Years, where its financial hub is 75 times far behind other countries' financial hubs. Several promises from the Federal and Provincial governments were made with no concerted effort. When it comes to Monsoon rain the city is almost paralyzed. Presently Pakistan facing a default-like situation or rumors are spreading. According to Bloomberg, Pakistan bond is 50% discount. In the recent past, several factories closed in Karachi or move to different cities because of a lack of a permanent clean water supply. For Karachi, the emergency alarm is not about to ring, but it has already rung loudly and competent authorities are sleeping very deeply and peacefully.?