KARACHI: With more than 100 gardeners employed on record and others on payroll by the landscape and gardening department of the University of Karachi, certain places, particularly the staff colony, on the campus amid wild plants and bushes appear to be complaining about their present fate.
The landscape and gardening committee, which is responsible for the upkeep of the plants, remains largely unable to ensure their trimming on time as most of the 1,435-acre area – all what’s left with the varsity after encroachers have occupied its 300 acres over the years – is covered with unkempt plants and wild bushes. Not only they serve as a haven for animals and insects but also give sanctuary to robbers and drug addicts.
Overgrown wild grass and ‘clean’ water flowing down the open drain near the staff colony give a perfect ground to mosquitoes to breed on although the last year had witnessed five cases of dengue fever on the varsity premises, according to KU sources. They say the administration had spent almost Rs0.7 million for the nullah’s repair which is hardly visible anywhere.
Besides robbers and thieves, the staff colony residents have also spotted drug addicts in the area a couple of times who cross the university’s boundary wall only to find out a safe place where no official puts check on their unsocial activities.
Interestingly, most of the gardeners leave after marking their presence in the attendance register or are spotted on fatique (a term commonly used by them for working beyond their official capacity).
Forty per cent of the landscape and gardening staff is found absent most of the time, according to a professor. He says, “Living near what appears to be a forest I have had quite a few experiences of discovering wild animals in my house, however the university administration despite several complaints has not done anything in this regard.”
“Though an amount ranging from Rs35 to Rs65 has been fixed for mowing the garden of the staffers, depending on the category their house, the gardeners usually ask for extra money for the work,” complains a staffer living on the campus. He says they just mark their attendance to work off the campus where they can make some extra coins.
“If I ask them to attend to my lawn it would take them not less than a month to get to the work,” he laments.
The residents also criticise the administration for hiring gardeners on the basis of their political affiliation. “Trees are hardly ever trimmed, nor looked after. So the result is when it rained some months back many of them were uprooted by the wind and fell on the electricity wires which disrupted power supply for days,” they say, adding that ironically many trees which were no way near the power lines were chopped down after the rains.
When Landscape and Gardening Committee Director Dr Salim Shehzad was asked to comment on the situation, he put the blame on inadequate staff as the main reason.
“We have a limited staff and even that too go on fatique. The department makes use of almost 50 of our staff members,” he said, claiming that he had taken special permission from the vice-chancellor to appoint 20 more gardeners after Eid. “We also plan to ask the department concerned to hire their own gardeners so that those hired by the administration can carry on other work,” he adds.
Sources claim that Dr Salim Shahzad, who is also the chairman of the agriculture department as well, has too much on his plate. “We cannot expect him to do justice to two jobs at a time, since both need complete attention,” they say.
Proper care may turn vast area of the campus into a better place to live on with lesser odds of theft cases, dengue fever attacks and other diseases, besides giving an attractive look to it.
KARACHI: With more than 100 gardeners employed on record and others on payroll by the landscape and gardening department of the University of Karachi, certain places, particularly the staff colony, on the campus amid wild plants and bushes appear to be complaining about their present fate.
