THE beginning of 1970 seemed to have had a slightly different effect on Karachi’s weather. A shower of rain on the morning of Jan 10, 1970 brought about a welcome change to what had thus far been a meteorologically eventless winter. The Met department said it was not going to bring any immediate and appreciable fall in temperature. Though the first winter rain, which woke up Karachi shortly before sunrise, was a passing downpour of only about 0.1 inch, it altered the cityscape as roads had pools of water for many hours. The day temperature fell only by four degrees Fahrenheit to 76 degrees; it was occasionally cloudy. This was caused by a western disturbance because of which experts had earlier thought it would only rain in Quetta and Kalat regions. Instead, it came down to touch Karachi. On Jan 11, the city had a drizzle at dawn for a second consecutive day, which was mostly residual moisture.

But no matter how cold the weather, if a mishap that usually occurs in summer has to happen, it will happen. On Jan 6, a cotton godown in Malir was gutted when a fire broke out. The Karachi Municipal Corporation (KMC) fire engines rushed to the scene and extinguished the blaze in about two hours. The police believed that the loss might run into ‘several thousand rupees’.

Arguably, a more significant incident took place on Jan 9 when an unsuccessful attempt was made to set the Freemasons Lodge on fire. An incendiary weapon was used by some unknown persons at the building, with the intention of setting it ablaze, but achieved only a charred armchair placed in the verandah of the structure and a staircase step. A fire brigade squad answering a telephone call put out the mini fire within three minutes. It was not immediately known when and who the authorities found responsible for the attack.

The criminal that did get caught that week, though, was an inspector of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA). He was arrested by the Kalakot police on Jan 7 for possessing an unlicensed revolver. The police claimed they had information that the inspector, Aslam, roamed about during odd hours and extorted money from citizens. A trap was laid by the station house officer of the Kalakot police near Kaka Hotel, Manghopir Road. He came there at about 1am. He was searched and as a result of which a revolver was recovered from him.

Then on Jan 9, the south wing office of the department of tourism was sealed off in Karachi following a high-level inquiry into alleged misappropriation of government funds by a deputy director, a cashier and other officers of the department. All records, including cash registers and accounts of transport, were sealed by the law enforcement agencies at the Tourist Officer situated in PECHS. The inquiry was started in August 1969. The allegations made against the officials were: they used forged tickets for conducting sightseeing tours and the money thus embezzled was used on purchasing expensive cars and other personal property. (This means corruption is a phenomenon that has been nibbling at the soul of society for a long time.)

On a brighter note of development, on Jan 10, the Landhi-Korangi Municipal Committee approved at a meeting construction of four roads and provision of surgical equipment at a maternity home at a cost of Rs308,500. Two culverts in the area were also to be built by the committee.

Published in Dawn, January 6th, 2020