THESE days, Karachi’s burgeoning population has become a big concern for town planners. Interestingly, half a century back, even when the demographic chart hadn’t even touched the one-crore mark, it was recognised as a major issue. On June 1, 1976, the Chief Minister of Sindh, Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi, urged citizens to work hard to enable the government to continue its development work and observed that population explosion and the influx of a large number of people into Karachi was causing unbearable pressure on the city’s civic services. Addressing a public meeting after inaugurating Love Lane Bridge constructed at a cost of Rs6 million by the Karachi Municipal Corporation (KMC), he assured the people that despite limited resources, development would carry on. “Every penny being collected as tax from the people will be spent on people’s welfare,” he remarked. On the issue of the shortage of water in some areas, the chief minister said all possible efforts were being made to complete the third phase of the Bulk Water Supply scheme. “I feel ashamed when people complain about the shortage of water because it is a genuine problem,” Mr Jatoi bemoaned.

Things didn’t seem to be functioning well in the field of health, too. On June 5, Dr A B Mohammad Ansari, Provincial Health Secretary, said in the last 15 years, Karachi had become the biggest malaria-infested city of Pakistan because of unchecked environmental pollution. He made that claim on the opening day of a seminar on ‘water and environment’ held under the auspices of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences, and the Pakistan Association of Scientists and Scientific Professions at PMA House to mark UN Human Environment Day. He pointed out that in Pakistan out of every 1,000 patients, 306 were victims of water pollution. Echoing what the chief minister had said a few days back, Mr Ansari said there was an ever increasing race between population growth and the water supply resources all over the world.

That being said, the art scene in Karachi seldom had a downtime. The month of June in 1976 was no different. On June 4, the students of the Central Institute of Arts and Crafts (CIAC) displayed their artworks at an exhibition held on the occasion of the institute’s annual convocation at the Arts Council gallery. Budding talents showed a great deal of variety in their creative output that included sketches, oil paintings, sculptures, ceramics and wood carvings. Those whose works were discussed in the media included Pervez Farooqi, Shakeel Siddiqui, A Abul Fatha, Neelofar Haroon, Naheed Haroon, Tina Aziz, Anjum Hasan and Shahla Tareen.

Another important art event took place at the same venue, the Arts Council, and was covered in this newspaper on June 1. It was a condolence reference held in memory of the renowned painter Zainul Abidin who had passed away on May 28 in Dacca. Speaking on the occasion, distinguished artist Gulgee, who presided the meeting, said the greatness of Zainul Abidin could be judged from the fact at the height of his creative ability he sacrificed his time to teach art to youngsters. Noted painter Ahmed Pervez said Zainul Abideen was a master of brushwork and pen strokes. “He was a moving force of art circles of the subcontinent.” Cartoonist Aziz said the late artist always liked to paint fishermen and peasants, and had often expressed his wish to live in a hut near the riverside to paint nature and the people around him.

Published in Dawn, June 1st, 2026