KARACHI: Despite the damage caused by the intermittent rains for two months, Karachiites’ spirits hadn’t dampened. They knew that in the first week of September, an important day needed to be commemorated.

Just two years back, Pakistan had fought its first full-blown war with India. Pakistan’s armed forces had done well in guarding their homeland. And Sept 6 was celebrated as the day when they successfully defended the country against India, marking the ceasefire in the war.

On Sept 6, 1967 the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) held a grand civic reception to celebrate Defence Day. Officers and jawans of the army, navy and the air force, in their ceremonial uniforms bedecked with ribbons, medals and awards, imparted a colourful touch to the event. The commander-in-chief of Pakistan Navy, Admiral S.M. Ahsan was the chief guest on the occasion. Also present were Karachi GOC Maj Gen S.A. Bilgrami and the Station Commander of Mauripur, Group Captain Salahuddin. Apart from Air Marshal Asghar Khan and retired Maj Gen Akbar Khan, the guests included officers of the three services, commissioner and deputy commissioner of Karachi, MNAs, MPAs and a large number of citizens. On behalf of the citizens, the KMC’s vice chairman presented souvenirs to Admiral Ahsan, Gen Bilgrami and Captain Salahuddin for their bravery in the 1965 war.

The KMC was in the news for one more reason. As has been established, from early July to late August, the monsoon rains had the city partially paralysed. It was a torrid time — buildings collapsed, people were displaced and roads were damaged. There was a sense that things could have been handled better had the civic bodies and administrative units acted promptly or pre-empted the situation. So, once the weather started to be a bit benevolent, a three-member governor’s inspection team reached Karachi from Lahore on Sept 8 to inquire into the causes of widespread damages to the city roads. The team was headed by a top civil engineer. Besides looking into the conditions of the rain-battered roads that came under the KMC’s management, the team was also supposed to have a look at the condition of the roads built by other agencies such as the Karachi Development Authority (KDA), the West Pakistan Public Works Department and the housing societies. The delegation was expected to examine the issue with all possible angles and make its recommendations to the government.

If on the one hand, water had proven to be dangerous for Karachiites, on the other hand another kind of water (found in aquariums) was doing pretty well. On Sept 9, it was reported that the previous year the Clifton Aquarium run by the KMC earned a total of Rs264,135 as gate-money. In all, 7,004,000 people — 3,77,200 adults, 2,84,800 minors and 38,400 schoolchildren — visited the facility. Only on Eidul Azha, a record number of 4,000 people came to the aquarium. How interesting is that! Alas, we no longer have the aquarium; and that too in a city that’s known as the ‘city by the sea’.

But then Karachi has undergone many a change over the years, some of which involve educational institutions. Here’s something from that week which might not sound strange in the context of present-day Pakistan. On Sept 4, it was announced that the management of Jinnah College had decided not to allow girls to get admission to the college because they had put an end to the co-education system. According to the secretary of Anjuman-i-Islamia (which ran the institution), the co-education set-up was a constant source of worry for the management.

Published in Dawn, September 5th, 2017