In the beginning there were no slums. When the city of Karachi began, there was enough for everyone. Enough for the British that came searching for a port from where they could lug goodies from their subcontinent back to the factories in their homeland, enough for the traders that came from elsewhere in India to set up shop, to sell and buy and make the profits to pad their pockets. The fishermen, the people who had lived before, stayed near the sea or by the site of two long dried up springs, Kharadar and Meethadar, out of the way of all the newcomers. Karachi before Partition was a sleepy city, a city unburdened by the dreams of people who came to find something more than what they had left behind. Over the years, slum dwellers living in squalor and in the most unpalatable of circumstances have become a permanent feature of Karachi’s settlements. But for the unfortunate residents of one of Pakistan’s largest slums, Machhar Colony, the conditions have been made even worse by the practice of dumping and stocking large piles of coal by the railway line that runs through the colony. Experts warn that coal dust deposited in the lungs can set off respiratory conditions, which in some cases can be life-threatening. The residents of Lyari, located next door to Machhar Colony, also suffer and it seems provincial environmental authorities are oblivious to the hazards they face. One of the reasons for this may be that the affected people are the poorest of the poor, have no voice and no real means to raise their concerns. Others will need to do this for them, for the sake of the people of Karachi, and for the city’s environment. Warnings are already coming in that as the coal deposits grow, the problem could expand into areas like Clifton and DHA.Quite beyond the threat posed by the dumping of coal is the fact that we conveniently ignore the conditions slum dwellers live in. All across the country, they live without access to clean drinking water, sanitation or the basic necessities of life. The reality is that Karachi is among those of the world’s major cities which have one of the largest percentages of slum dwellers amongst their residents. It is time we took measures to offer these people the protections and the basic rights they need. No one should be forced to live like the millions who inhabit shanty towns located across our cities.
pk.shafaqna.com
