By: Asem Mustafa Awan
Standing in the stagnant, contaminated and mosquito infested water left from the rain, the child with passionate voice holds the lifeless body of his rooster calling all authorities as ‘murderers’.
The emotional child with his dead rooster addresses all concerned and blames everyone. How many tears he has shed no one can tell and there is no one to wipe his tears. How many days he survived in that water and after how many days relief reached him is another story. The world for him died with his beloved rooster.
Truth serum unlike polio drops has never been injected or administered nationwide which should have been made mandatory constitutionally.
He is just one child but there are millions more who are facing a bigger dilemma. He moans the death of his rooster which died due to poisonous water.
The question arises; would the national planners feel the same pain as 80 per cent of the population drinks contaminated and fecal water and in case of Sindh, it is poisonous water.
The floods in Karachi exposed all the administration, town planners and political bigwigs who promised big but delivered nothing. Millions of rupees were poured in to city as political bribes over the years but all the money ended up in the select few pockets and there was nothing for the city.
The water is still standing in certain areas and now the media is showing flood appeals which should have been aired a month ago when the rain was battering Sindh. Such is the sad state of affairs as when the help that was needed most wasn’t there and when people have adapted to survive with nothing, publicity hungry individuals jump in to help the affectees.
How many have died and how many have been displaced is a figure that will always be debatable but the few who have been helped by organizations and philanthropists deserve appreciation.
The child’s rooster would have survived if the ‘ill planners’ in land of the pure Pakistan planned in time and with empathy for the countrymen who fall below poverty line in millions and count gets increased with every passing day. The government statistics can be quoted for a rosy picture and world donors while the actual facts state otherwise.
Millions of rupees were poured in to city as political bribes over the years but all the money ended up in the select few pockets and there was nothing for the city.
The unprecedented rainy spell in Sindh have left how many displaced no one can tell as figures are always approximately, adding few more zeros makes it truthful but who speaks the truth when faced with crisis.
A norm that has never been practiced from top to bottom and starting from former Prime Minister’s to the lowest government official the municipality cleaner. Truth serum unlike polio drops have never been injected or administered nationwide which should have been made mandatory constitutionally. The need of the hour is truth and nothing but truth; how long it can be hidden when social media offers alternate views which have more liking by the masses unlike the regular media.
A few thousands that too select few were lucky to get assistance from authorities during the floods while majority is still in the open and seek immediate assistance. The teams have been dispatched and figures are generated, but is it all true is a question raised from the one who have been denied help.
It is not long ago when entire localities in low lying areas of Karachi were submerged. People in power living in posh areas of Karachi faced the same dilemma as water stopped for no one and they faced the calamity like the poor. The poor made no hue and cry but the rich with their sense of being mighty and haughty made protests for the loss incurred.
News appeared of the reconciliatory meeting between the posh area dwellers and the housing society management and nothing was reported afterwards.
It is worth mentioning that these housing societies in their land grabbing scams and ripping off the poor take more from the acquired areas. The water course of a sewage stream was blocked in one such society and finding no way out water made its own course.
The urban planning in Karachi has been haphazard and for decades the city had people pouring in from all parts of the country. These people made their own localities and communities and in order to protect themselves they form their own rules for safety. The term ‘no go areas’ in Karachi was coined because of that and such was the fear in the past that people feared to even go in these areas.
The city with out of control surge of people made many problems and administration officials finding an easy way out oblige each and everybody for the price that suited their interests. The practices of fake identity cards, fake deeds and land grabbing all happened as there was no one to check the corrupt practices. It is for the record most of the officials in Karachi administration are faced with inquiries and are on bail before arrest.
The recent multi story buildings getting collapsed exposed the corruption in the Sindh Building Control Authority which allowed multi story buildings at places which was not allowed. The authorization record for all these corrupt practices was mysteriously burnt which is a SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) for any inquiry which is ordered by the court.
The local body elections which are guaranteed in the Constitution have also been left in doldrums due to Sindh government who wants to delimit the elections. The residents of this cosmopolitan city has so much to offer in the national economy but have very little of respite.
There are myriads of problems and there no end to public misery. Will Karachi be able to get cleansed from corruption is question which at present has an answer with an infinite time frame.
The writer is special correspondent and columnist at The Dayspring