POLITICS and art usually dominate the headlines as far as Karachi is concerned. But it was a slightly different kind of a week where the news reports ranged from small-scale migration to the availability of a juicy, seasonal fruit. Politics first, though.

The relationship between East and West Pakistan was hard to describe. There was unrest in the country. On May 12, 1971 the University of Karachi (KU) decided that concessions for admissions and examinations would be made to the students migrating from East Pakistan to Karachi. As part of the concession programme, those who had appeared for the BA/BSc Honours part-III or MA/MSc (previous) in an East Pakistani university and whose results for the said exams had not been declared, would be allowed admission to part-III Honours or MA/MSc for the same subject during the ongoing session. One doesn’t exactly know why members of the student community were moving from one wing to the other; still, wasn’t it a sweet gesture from KU!

Another sweet thing that Karachiites get to taste in summer is mangoes. But on May 14, citizens were a tad disappointed to read in the newspapers that with the arrival of the season, mangoes would be costlier to buy. Why? Well, the mango trees had been damaged by pests — and rainfall, too, that year had not been adequate. The main culprit, though, were the mango hoppers which had extensively damaged the trees. This time around, they had a free field in the absence of pesticide spray. A proper spraying could not take place because of the lack of sufficient budgetary allocations.

Speaking of allocations which largely happen as per what’s at the top of the authorities’ priority list, the Karachi Municipal Corporation (KMC) had set its priorities straight — at least, on paper. On May 15, it was reported that the KMC was conducting surveys through its consultants for the implementation of the first ever planned sewerage scheme in Lyari. It was expected to cost Rs16.7 million including the foreign exchange expenditure of Rs4.7 million. The survey results were expected to be ready within six months after which tenders would be called for the execution of the plan.

Another piece of good news came from the health sector on May 14 when Governor of Sindh Lt-Gen Rakhman Gul inaugurated a new 30-bed ward at the Spencer Eye Hospital. Speaking on the occasion, he said the pace of ‘multiplication of needs’ was much faster than that of resources at the government’s disposal. There was a big gulf between financial resources at the command of the government and the expressed needs of the public. The gap could only be bridged by a private philanthropic effort.

On the more colourful side of things, on May 15, a group exhibition of sculptures opened at the Indus Art Gallery. The three participating artists — Rabia Zuberi, Afsar Naqvi and Saghir Ahmed — had put on display a wide variety and high quality of work – in total 72 pieces were on view. Zuberi and Naqvi were graduates of the Lucknow College of Arts and Crafts while Ahmed had his formal training at an arts college in London.

Published in Dawn, May 10th, 2021