LYARI is one of the oldest neighbourhoods in Karachi. There is no element of surprise in the fact that every administration in the city has tried to win over the resilient people of Lyari by promising infrastructural growth and improved everyday facilities in their area to not a great degree of success. On May 30, 1972 it was reported that the Karachi Municipal Corporation (KMC) had embarked on a number of development projects in Lyari at a cost of Rs19.5 million.

A high-level meeting held in the locality the day before reviewed the plans carried out by the corporation for the uplift of the people. Presided over by Abdul Sattar Gabol, Provincial Minister for Health, Labour and Social Welfare, the meeting was attended by Minister for Local Bodies Jam Sadiq Ali, representatives of Lyari and officials of the KMC.

On June 4, it was decided in another session attended by Mr Ali and Mr Gabol that 50 per cent recruitment in the KMC would be made from amongst the Lyari residents and 50 per cent from the rest of the city. They were of the view that Lyari had suffered neglect in the past therefore it should be given proper opportunities to bring it on a par with the other localities of the Sindh capital.

The corporation also made the headlines on June 2 when it was announced that the KMC had agreed to take over management of Hill Park from the beginning of the next month. The decision was taken by the coordination committee of the KMC and the Karachi Development Authority (KDA). It was agreed upon, too, that the incomplete sewage disposal work in North Nazimabad and Federal B Area would be carried out by the KDA.

On the political front, the language issue in Sindh, which had reared its head a couple of months back, had again come to the fore. On May 30, the Minister for Planning and Development, Mohammad Khan Soomro said the Peoples Party would fulfill its promise made to the people of Sindh by making Sindhi the official language of the province. Talking to newsmen in Karachi, he said there should be no misunderstanding on the question, and those agitating in this connection better concentrate on more important problems facing the country. He added a bill was to be moved in the coming session of the Provincial Assembly which he hoped would receive unanimous support from all elected representatives of the province.

On June 4, the Central Muslim League, Karachi, demanded that both Urdu and Sindhi be adopted as the official languages of Sindh to avert bitterness. The working committee of the party at a meeting noted that if Sindhi was made the official language then the Urdu-speaking government employees would be deprived of their services. In order to give representation to the people of the province at the national level and for development of the province, it was necessary that Urdu be given the status of the official language. The committee further resolved that to eliminate provincialism in Sindh, examples of the provincial governments of Punjab, the NWFP and Balochistan be followed.

Published in Dawn, May 30th, 2022