EDITORIAL: The Karachi Municipal Corporation has recently sanctioned Rs six lakhs for the repair, renovation and re-carpeting of a number of City roads which have been in a bad state of maintenance for a long time. The action is no doubt welcome as far as it goes, but the painful truth is that it will not go very far, at least not far enough to ensure a notable improvement in the conditions of even those roads which are within the KMC limits.

It is common knowledge that, generally speaking, the City’s vast network of roads, besides reflecting an awful lack of planning, displays gross neglect on the part of the agencies concerned to keep it in a proper shape of maintenance and repair.

Obviously, to bring about an appreciable improvement in the present unsatisfactory conditions of the City’s road system, the problem has necessarily to be viewed in its totality and the efforts and resources of the various agencies like the KMC, the KDA, the PWD and the housing societies have to be combined and co-ordinated to form part of a common programme. But the fact must be noted that even within the KMC limits the need for proper repair, re-carpeting and renovation of roads is enormous and, as such, the amount sanctioned by the KMC for this purpose can only touch a fringe of the problem. ...

Even in some of the newly developed residential areas like PECHS, Sind Muslim Housing Society, PIB Colony, Nazimabad etc, the general state of the roads is no better. ... Not to speak of minor streets and lanes, even the majority of the main roads are in a deplorable state of disrepair.

All complaints and criticism on the part of the residents have so far failed to induce necessary action on the part of the authorities concerned to improve the situation.

This being the case, the only hope lies in the Karachi Administration taking up the issue in all earnestness and initiating efforts on the part of the agencies and authorities concerned for a general improvement in the conditions of the City’s entire road system.

Published in Dawn, June 27th, 2016