KARACHI, Oct 14: Lyari has presently become a problem-ridden locality owing to housing shortage problem as those living here for decades have not shifted to other areas, although availability of land has reached a saturation point.
Owing to cultural traditions, the locality has become congested over the years as many people here prefer living a community life under joint family system. “Together we live and share each others’ joys and grief,” says an old resident of Lyari.
According to a survey, Lyari Town with a population of 1.6 million, is spread on some 1600 acres. It is located on the right bank of Lyari River.
An average family in the town comprises seven members. Based on this assumption, the total number of families at present is around 2,30,000.
The survey also shows that a majority of houses have a maximum total space of 40 to 80 square yards and an average family consists seven members.
The residents of Karachi’s oldest settlement have urged the government to give serious thought to the housing shortage problem in Lyari which has become acute with the passage of time owing to its limited space and rising population.
Another reason cited for congestion is the locality’s convenient location for daily wage workers and those associated with other trades who want to live near the city centre.
City’s major markets, including Saddar, Jamia Cloth market, Boulton market, are easily accessible from Lyari by bus and foot.
Public transport is also easily available even at night. Majority of the population of the locality still belongs to low income groups and they could not afford to buy land.
A new trend is being witnessed with the emergence of highrises in the 70s after the defunct KMC’s regularisation plan. It resulted in mushroom growth of apartments built vertically by builders, which have been causing problems to the original inhabitants. In a majority cases, precious land has been usurped by builders.
Thus a large number of people started living in small houses in sub-human conditions and problems are multiplying owing to scant civic services — shortage of water, insanitation, sewage overflows which calls for immediate steps to overcome the housing crisis in Lyari area by developing some other housing scheme exclusively meant for the residents of Lyari.
In 1980s, the then Sindh Governor, Lt-Gen S.M. Abassi, conceived a plan to develop a new settlement in the vicinity of Hawkesbay to facilitate shifting of burgeoning population of Lyari to the new housing scheme, popularly known as new Lyari housing scheme.
But the scheme had been sabotaged by the KDA on the pretext of so-called technicalities and after the creation of Lyari Development Authority the scheme was transferred to it by the KDA.
In 1996, the then PPP government constructed 500 low-cost houses in Hawkesbay and the same were allotted to party workers but it could not change the overall situation and the housing shortage continued to persist.
Consequently, the housing shortage is compounding people’s miseries owing to rise in price of land and also owing to illegal activities of builders and developers who in a bid raise multi-storey buildings purchase houses in bulk.
Though the locality has been regularized and considered to be permanent settlement, it was observed that the condition of houses did not improve as a result of regularization. The new constructions were razed in a haphazard way despite the fact they were issued NOCs by the KBCA.
It is witnessed that when a kachchi abadi is regularized, there remains little space for the original inhabitants owing to conversion of land-use as commercial and residential areas are earmarked, roads are constructed, community centres are built and plots of land are allotted for parks.
A CBO representative suggested launching of a new housing scheme, especially for people from middle class in Lyari.
