Karachi is one of the largest in the country as well as the 12th largest city worldwide, with nearly 17 million inhabitants living within the city’s limits. A large portion of Pakistan’s economy relies on Karachi, with major industrialisation as well as people living there. Karachi is suffering from infrastructure related issues from the past many decades, thanks to deliberate negligence of concerned authorities and ineffective infrastructure management. There are boundless issues of Karachi’s infrastructure to begin with. Be it traffic congestion, water scarcity, Poor sanitation management, electricity outages, Inadequate housing and many more.
Karachi is known for its heavy traffic comprising of motorbikes, rickshaws, cars and bikes which results in long commutes and increased air pollution. Karachiites have to leave their places hours before reaching their destination and still they get late because of congested roads. This causes wastage of time and severe exhaustion from continuously driving. Another major cause of traffic jams is terrible conditions of the roads. There are numerous potholes that cause slow traffic too. The harsh reality is that the Metroplitan city of Pakistan has been deprived of its public transportation system. There are no bus terminals or bus stops in sight. For that reason, everyone has to travel in their own cars. Fifty cars instead of one bus on the road leads to heavy traffic jams. During rush hours, it takes employees two or more hours to reach home every single day without fail. This severely impacts the productivity and optimism of the masses.
Pakistan is among the most water-stressed countries in the world, with rapidly declining water availability. Karachi is facing a severe water crisis that is putting millions of lives at risk.
The latest UN report ‘Global Water Security 2023 Assessment’ places Pakistan in the critically water-insecure category, indicating that the country is facing a water emergency. Common causes of water scarcity are climate change, rapid population growth, global warming and mismanagement of water resources. The lack of access to clean water is affecting people’s health, education and livelihoods and the country’s economy.
Women and children are most affected, as they have to travel long distances to fetch water, which takes up their most of time. According to many scientific researches, by 2025 Pakistan will be facing complete water scarcity. Government of Pakistan needs to take immediate action to address the water crisis.
Poor sanitation The city’s sewage and waste management systems are inadequate, leading to unhygienic living conditions and environmental pollution. Lack of maintenance and regulation of the existing sewerage system has led to increased contaminated water deliveries to citizens. Most localities in Karachi lack a proper drainage system due to which sewage water is constantly spilling onto roads and pavements.
Choked drains and uncovered manholes have led to constant water accumulation in various areas. Consequently, outbreaks of various water borne diseases such as typhoid, helicobacter pylori, malaria, diarrhea have severely impacted healthcare of Karachiites. The situation is worsened by Karachi’s rapidly growing population and lack of awareness among citizens regarding safe drinking water. I often wonder why Karachiites have accepted these exploitations at the hands of authorities and government. Karachi generates the most tax, yet it’s robbed of basic amenities . I sincerely request the government to take notice of messy conditions of Karachi as it is becoming a slum. Each passing day it is getting unlivable.
—The writer is contributing columnist, based in Karachi
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