KARACHI: Students of the University of Karachi have conducted a survey to look at the problems and difficulties faced by people living in katchi abadis of the metropolis.

Under the supervision of the KU dean, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Prof Nasreen Aslam Shah, students of the KU’s Women’s Studies Centre and Department of Social Work, conducted a survey titled Awaiting Government’s Assistance: Victim of Socio-Economic Issues Living in Slum Areas to highlight the problems and difficulties faced by people living in katchi abadis.

The KU study observes that social and economic problems of katchi abadis cannot be addressed without official support. The survey team visited 12 towns of the city and collected 2,200 samples of which 500 were examined and evaluated in detail.

The students went to various katchi abadis and squatter settlements, including Future Colony, Mansehra Colony, Shafiq Colony, Quaid-i-Azam Colony, Jamal Goth, Madhu Goth, Millat Town, Akhtar Colony, Baloch Colony and Sharafi Goth and queried the inhabitants.

They collected samples after meeting every person individually and questionnaires were filled according to the replies by the locals. The questions were asked in sequence so that people could easily share their problems and provide maximum information about their difficulties. They were not bound by choices; each of them had the liberty to express themselves in their own words and that is why they easily shared their feelings with the data collectors.

KU survey team collects data from various katchi abadis to highlight their civic, economic problems

To collect information in detail, almost 99 per cent of the area women, aged 20 to 40 years, were questioned. The reason for selecting females was that they could express their social and economic problems better than their male counterparts.

Karachi, also known as Mini-Pakistan, comprises people of different races, cultures, religious and ethnic backgrounds. Individuals and families from most parts of the country migrate to the megacity to earn their bread and butter.

The survey report mentioned that as this port city has the ability to provide food, shelter and earning facilities to all, it has seen a lot of rural-to-urban migration every year due to which the whole informal system of living has grown over the years.

Both men and women need to work

The students found out that Karachi’s financial system demands that both men and women (particularly if they have migrated to earn their livelihoods) should go to work. Sometimes, a whole family has to work to meet their daily expenses.

According to the study, on one hand, Karachi provides many facilities, on the other, there are many problems its dwellers have to face. Unemployment, lack of basic civic facilities, increasing crime rate, uncertain situation of the metropolitan, environmental hazards and other factors are challenges which one has to face on a regular basis, particularly those who live in katchi abadis.

The students say this situation is a result of the state’s inability to provide basic facilities and carelessness on part of political parties which do not address the problems of the people living in slums.

They say that the population is increasing day by day and so are the problems. They suggested that although the situation is quite complex, if the government has the will to address them, it would gradually improve and social and financial system could be stabilised with proper planning.

The survey points out that the unavailability of clean drinking water, poor drainage, shortfall of gas and electricity, broken roads, out of control traffic movement on the roads, piles of garbage, unemployment and inflation are some major problems which should be fixed on priority.

The survey revealed that females, children and aged people often complain of lack of food due to which they often fall sick. It also mentioned that 56pc of the total internally migrated people belong to various districts of Punjab.

The report finds that owing to poverty, illiteracy and unemployment, these people adopt various ordinary jobs to earn their bread. On average, they earn from Rs5,000 to Rs20,000 per month.

According to the findings of the KU survey, around 37.6pc population comprises locals who have been living here since early days of the city’s establishment while 56.6pc people have come to the city during the last three to 20 years.

The survey report underlines that 61.5pc people have come to find jobs whereas the city’s attraction motivated 4.1pc people to come to Karachi and the availability of basic facilities brought around 15.3pc people to the city.

As people who belong to other parts of the country do not have the privilege to enjoy most of the facilities in Karachi, they have to live in houses which do not have proper infrastructure or in shanty towns or squatter settlements.

52.6pc people have no proper houses

A large number of people have to live below the poverty line and 84.8pc of migratory people do not have proper residences and around five to eight people share small housing units. The survey team found that 52.6pc people did not own proper houses.

As per the report, 58.4pc are part of migratory families and three to six children could be found in every house of which the females are in a majority. About 60pc of those children go to school whereas 40pc females have faced serious health issues due to the lack of food, 28.2pc due to the absence of clean drinking water, 27.4pc work overload and 4.4pc environmental issues.

The report highlights that 70.6pc children do not have access to a balanced diet and seasonal fruits. Most of the earning of migratory people is spent on medical treatment, food and entertainment.

In a majority of cases, two to three family members earn but as their family size is quite big, all the earning does not help them much.

Published in Dawn, May 14th, 2019