YES, it’s nothing new. The food authorities’ raids on restaurants –– swanky or lowbrow –– to check whether they’re complying with guidelines given to them to maintain a certain level of hygiene and healthy food is not a contemporary thing. In fact, 50 years back, it used to happen quite often. The owners of restaurants would always be on their toes, so to speak, to meet the required standards of the culinary business. That said, not all of them were watchful.

On Oct 5, the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation issued a press release saying 30 owners of eating houses within the municipal limits of the city had been prosecuted for violating the rules of hygiene in the maintenance of their premises. This meant, not just the quality of food was kept under constant check in those days, but great importance was attached to the overall environment (not ambience, the word overused by modern-day foodies) of restaurants and eateries.

The emphasis at the time was on both accountability and self-accountability. If you yourself did not know your obligations, the heavy-handed attitude of the authorities should not come as a surprise to you. This was the reason that when commissioner of Karachi Syed Darbar Ali Shah, on Oct 4, visited the Chanesar Goth Union Committee to familiarise himself with the problems of the neighbourhood, he requested those living in the area to lessen the burden on the government by solving their ‘local’ problems on a self-help basis. He was addressing the basic democrats and residents belonging to Mehmoodabad, Liaquat Ashraf Colony, Allama Iqbal Colony and Amn Basti.

As can be guessed, the city administration in 1965 was particularly focused on localities which were developed after independence. On Oct 9, a government handout said that the Regional Transport Authority had issued permits for eight buses for route 6-A to provide transport facilities to those living in Memon Society, Azizabad and Jauharabad. Today Karachi needs a similar, well thought-out public transport system with big, spacious buses for major routes.

Mind you, despite the fact that October had begun, the effects of the Pakistan-India war that broke out the previous month were still there, as things had not completely cooled off. Karachiites were fully involved in supporting and encouraging their armed forces in whichever way they could. On Oct 7, the blood bank of the Jinnah Postgraduate Centre pledged it would send 200 more bottles of blood for war victims in conflict zones. (More than 400 bottles had already been sent.)

The process of sending gift parcels for war victims also continued, as on Oct 9 the city commissioner, who was also president of the Red Crescent Society, handed to the station commander of Karachi over 900 packets and articles to be given to the soldiers.

Also, on Oct 8 it was announced that a 30-minute documentary depicting Pakistan’s heroic resistance to India’s aggression and the valorous deeds of the country’s armed forces during the last 10 day (Sept 13-23) would be released (Oct 8) in countrywide cinema houses. The documentary was produced by the Film Wing of the Department of Films and Publications, Government of Pakistan. It was also supposed to be sent to Pakistani foreign missions for screening abroad. Wouldn’t it be interesting to know if someone still has a copy of that documentary?

Published in Dawn, October 5th , 2015

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