PEOPLE are recognised by their moral values, like, for instance, the way they talk and behave. I recently happened to be travelling from Jail Chowrangi to Mosamiat area in Karachi where the University Road is undergoing construction work related to a proposed bus service.

I felt happy to see work being done for the masses. However, I was taken aback when I observed stains of gutka and pan spitted by the people on concrete blocks placed along the under-construction bus track. Honestly speaking, these stains could be observed right from Jail Chowrangi all the way to Mosamiat. No block is left unstained, unfortunately, by people for whom the whole infra-structure is being raised.

Sad to say that we have not learnt our civic values at all. There are several dustbins in the city for garbage, but we throw waste on the roads instead of the dustbins, while we also do not feel any remorse or shame in spitting, pan, gutka and naswar on walls, streets and roads.

The government is doing its work, but it cannot stop people from throwing waste and spreading filth on the roads. It is our collective responsibility to make cities clean, or at least refrain from making them dirty.

We have to keep our roads and streets clean. We need to learn lessons from other countries. For example, during the recent World Cup in Qatar, Japanese fans were seen cleaning stadiums after their team’s matches. When asked by a reporter, they said it was their culture to clean up behind them. Is it too big a demand from our masses to learn some civility and civic sense?

Masroor Hussain Rahoojo
Karachi

Published in Dawn, February 3rd, 2023