TALK about water scarcity, loadshedding of power and gas, security issues, police lethargy, food impurities, absence of empathy, unruly traffic flow, water standing on the roads … Ah! This is where I will stop. And, I will stop not because the litany of woes is over. I stop because I am running out of breath enumerating the woes. Surely and undeniably, there are many more issues that we have been facing for years with no reforms in sight at all.

The lane in front of our house had remained dug up for months. We were all hopeful that the road, whenever it was repaired, would end our miseries. But it was carpeted in the most callous way on the very day the heavens opened up.

The very next morning, the road was in need of repairs once again. This is the level of corruption that is rampant across the land. Wherever we turn, there is a sorry sight ready to stare us in the face.

It is a rather sad state of affairs that all we can do is to swear under the breath and carry on with our lives. Unfortunately, time-worn people like us have to bear this absurdity just the way our elders had done, and children would. Do we deserve this?

Tasneem Allibhoy Tharia
Karachi

Published in Dawn, August 15th, 2025