WE are sinking as a nation because we talk big and act small. The recent rains in Karachi have exposed the extent of rot that has set in our city planning and municipal institutions. Nature is a great leveller and Karachiites discovered that eternal verity last week.

Nature that had etched out two rivers, 12 Nullahs and over 1,200 tributaries over thousands of years to feed the ocean (Arabian Sea) were encroached upon by greedy developers to develop residential colonies to make a fast buck.

Some influential government departments and elite private housing authorities contributed to the choking of hydrological arteries of the largest metropolis of the country.

When the original sin is not identified and the basic causes not remedied, then placebo solutions are bandied about to appease a riled-up public. One fears another such cover-up is in the offing Karachi in fact is a microcosm of our collective dysfunctionality as planners and regulators.

The elite needs to understand that the isolated affluence of the gated communities would not save them when the aquifers are poisoned, the air toxified and the drainage blocked. A trailer was shown by nature this week in Karachi when the water entered hitherto untouchable precincts of elite housing colonies. Our penchant to block waterways and thoroughfares transcends Karachi.

In Islamabad Capital Territory a national highway i.e. GT Road, has been blocked by the traffic mayhem of shoppers of a famous departmental store since Aug 22.

This is a supermarket that has opened without adequate — in fact almost non-existent — parking arrangements. One wonders who issued the NOC allowing them to operate. Karachi is a victim of a similar proclivity.

Encroach at will by greasing palms of all institutions and use political patronage to cover up your tracks. The cost would be borne by the future generations. It is

time we found out who narrowed and blocked water outfalls like the Malir river, Gujjar Nullah, Gizri Creek and Kalri Nullah.

The fact that 20,000 tonnes of sludge was removed by civil and army disaster relief teams points towards a systemic failure of municipal governance. It is time we acted lest nature reclaims what we have snatched from it.

A start needs to be made by establishing a national commission for the identification of the problem comprising technical experts answerable directly to the prime minister.

This commission should pinpoint the encroachments and suggest solutions that should be implemented through a composite federal-provincial agency spearheaded by army leadership.

Brig(r) Raashid Wali Janjua

Islamabad

Published in Dawn, September 3rd, 2020