WHAT a busy week it was for Karachi’s administrators! The commissioner of the city, the chairman and deputy chairman of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) had their hands full with trying to address the issues concerning Karachiites.

On Oct 18, 1967 Karachi commissioner Syed Darbar Ali Shah paid a surprise visit to the historic Lea Market to see the sanitary conditions in and around the building and to know the problems faced by the shopkeepers. He was accompanied by the chairman and the health officer of the KMC. He was not particularly chuffed about the condition in which he found the bazaar and directed the corporation officials to put garbage bins in the marketplace. After that, he went to Singho Lane and spoke with the union committee members there. He told the members of the committee that the local administration was ‘alive’ to their problems.

The very next day, Oct 21, KMC chairman Pervez Ahmed Butt came to Lyari. Addressing the basic democrats and municipal councilors of the neighbourhood, he regretted that the Lyari area had for long remained unplanned and neglected. He assured them that things would change in the future and residents of Lyari would be provided with all the basic amenities by the municipal administration as soon as possible. Ah, the modest people of Lyari, promises is what they have been receiving for decades.

In that sense, residents of Nazimabad have been pretty fortunate — their area developed relatively quickly than some other localities in the city. On Oct 21, the 64th municipal park in the city, 12th in Nazimabad, was opened by the deputy commissioner of Karachi. The facility, opened to the public in Nazimabad No 3, covered an area of 12,000 square feet and was built at a cost of Rs12,000. An octagonal lily pond, a unique feature of all parks in Nazimabad [at the time], was the highlight of the inaugurated garden. It also had rides for children. By the way, a day earlier the KMC chairman had opened a park in Nazimabad No 5 which was a bit smaller (9,735sq feet), leading the count to 63. Wow! Karachi had 64 parks in 1967! Where have they vanished? Why can’t the authorities today dot the city with gardens?

Well, for that we need to set our priorities straight, as it used to be the case in the 1960s. In fact, in those days the department of tourism was quite efficient (Do we still have that department?) On Oct 21, it was reported that the department had sent requests both to the provincial and municipal bodies for beautification of the city to attract tourists (also done in connection with the international tourist year that was being observed). Apart from sending a request to the chief secretary in West Pakistan, direct appeals were made to the KMC with regard to cleanliness and DIG Karachi Police for clearing the main shopping centres of beggars and vagrants.

Speaking of foreign visitors, that week an exhibition of three to four centuries’-old Japanese woodcuts attracted art lovers to the Arts Council. Works of famous Japanese artists such as Katsushika Hokusai and Hishikawa Morononobu were on display. According to a critic, the woodblock prints had a universal appeal because they captured the business of everyday life.

Published in Dawn, October 16th, 2017