THE way infrastructure of Karachi has been destroyed after the torrential rains this year has exposed rampant corruption, inefficiency, apathy and poor governance of the provincial government. In fact, it looks as if there is no government at all.

It is quite evident that the city is under the control of different mafias doing their work in connivance with the authorities. During the recent monsoon, there has been a heavy loss of human life which can be termed a humanitarian disaster.

People have lost their homes, livestock, businesses and belongings. As a health worker, I can clearly foresee that misery of the common man is not over yet. First, the monsoon is not quite over yet. Second, even when the season is over, there is every reason to believe that the city will be in the grip of an epidemic of gastroenteritis, malaria, dengue, hepatitis, typhoid and other infectious diseases.

Do we have any plan to face these calamities? The answer is a big ‘no’. As far as Karachi is concerned, the destruction seems to be a man-made disaster. The contractors responsible for building and repairing the road structure are ignorant of word ‘honesty’. There is no accountability because higher authorities concerned are their partners in these criminal practices.

The contractors use substandard material that gets swept away either by a drizzle or a single overflowing sewer. The poor public has to bear the consequences. This broken road network causes physical injuries to bones, muscles and joints.

What, however, seems to be ignored is the psychological impact. People are getting irritated and fatigued because of these issues. Cases of anxiety and depression are increasing with every passing day. Last but not least, the damage caused to vehicles owing to potholes, or should one say, craters in roads, these days cannot be estimated as it is beyond imagination.

Being a responsible activist of Pakistan Medical Association (PMA), I offer the medical community’s professional services to the government to help make arrangements for stopping a possible spread of post-rain diseases, and help the poor and the needy.

Dr Mirza Ali Azhar
Ex-President, PMA Sindh
Karachi

Published in Dawn, August 12th, 2022