KARACHI hasn’t been very rich in terms of parks and recreational spots. Nevertheless, Safari Park, Hill Park, Aziz Bhatti Park, etc have always been iconic city landmarks. On the other hand, Bagh Ibne Qasim and Beach View Park have been somewhat recent additions. Development activities in recent times have also led to the rise of small- and medium-sized parks in different towns and neighbourhoods.

Millions of rupees have been spent on the development of these parks. This development has been a sincere effort on the part of the city government to provide the desperate public some relief from their cramped and claustrophobic existence. These small yet well-equipped parks have been marked by beautiful gates, lush green belts, benches, pathways, jogging tracks, swings, small fountains, and electronic rides.

These neighbourhood parks specially cater to the needs of the lower- and lower-middle class strata of society since they are usually within walking distance of different neighbourhoods and don’t charge any admission fee. These parks also serve as an economic venue for the working class as candy, corn, popcorn, balloons and ice-cream vendors sell edibles and other goods to those who can’t afford to break the bank every time they go out.

To tired wage-earning fathers, the parks provide a safe space to rest and connect with their family. Parks and playgrounds are invaluable to children who live in cramped apartments in high-rises and study in bungalows. These parks serve as precious breathing and walking spaces for housewives and girls who are cooped up all day long in their small kitchens. Likewise, the elderly find them a welcoming spot for meeting up with others of their age group.

However, there seems to be a direct relationship between elections and civic development activities, as the run-up to each election sees a spurt in various kinds of development projects. Roads and nullahs get repaired overnight; parks are given a facelift; encroachments are cleared up; street lights are installed; new transportation schemes are chalked out; and a fabulous mass transit system is promised to the public by glib political contestants vying for their votes.

Yet the maintenance of parks, roads, transportation schemes and green belts is soon forgotten. The sustainability of projects is what’s lacking from civic bodies’ plans. Hence these parks — just like other civic projects — fall into decay. Grass dies from lack of water and fertiliser; swings are broken; benches have disappeared; even iron bars from the walls have been stolen by drug addicts and sold off.

The general public is also to blame as it spares no time in turning such spaces into waste-dumping grounds. It always starts with a few dumped shoppers and then explodes into a huge mass of waste. The waste attracts scavengers and animals, especially stray dogs and swooping kites and crows. However, animals are the not the only ones posing a threat to the public; snatchers, looters and eve-teasers often prowl around ill-maintained parks. Moreover, in a city where land is more valuable than human life, such parks act as magnets for the land mafia.

The disrepair of parks and playgrounds is usually blamed on lack of funds for their maintenance by civic bodies like the KMC and union councils. However, every government has been interested in tearing down the work of the earlier one and reinventing the wheel. Using the ‘us versus them’ philosophy, projects initiated by earlier governments are treated as stepchildren and discarded. This kind of wilful neglect makes the projects fall into decay, hence wasting taxpayers’ money.

It is high time that civic bodies become independent and autonomous and not tied down to the change in government and political factions’ entrance and exit. Likewise, the union councils in each neighbourhood should generate their own maintenance funds through holding moderately commercial activities like galas, matches and funfairs in the parks and not just relying on the provincial or city governments for funds.

Lastly, the public is equally responsible for maintenance of parks. The neighbourhood unions should keep a check on the households and sweepers who use such spaces as their personal dumping grounds.

Published in Dawn December 14th , 2014