Life in a quick-fix culture

Root causes continue to be ignored. No heed is paid to developing a mass transit system and we instead embark with great fanfare on flyovers, underpasses and other projects of fleeting import. What will happen, say, ten years down the road when the infrastructure now being raised becomes obsolete, in the sense of not being able to cope with the increased traffic at the time? Space in Karachi is not infinite and there are only so many flyovers that can be built.

Will we then focus on what should have been the priority to begin with? Probably not. What will be floated most likely is some new and outlandish scheme on the lines of the elevated expressway that will shortly disfigure this city forever.

Unlike the expressway, some of the flyovers and underpasses being constructed are clearly needed. The problem is that they can only provide short-term relief. Build the flyovers by all means but also start work in earnest on a mass transit system featuring above-ground or subterranean trains. But there is no sign of that happening. Kolkata and New Delhi can do it, we can’t get past ‘jugaarh ka kaam’.

Take for impracticality the proposal to save energy by shutting down shops at sunset, among other measures. This is a classic case of punishing the victim. Besides, how will this diktat in any way reduce daytime demand for electricity? Loadshedding happens round the clock and if the plan goes through, businesses will have to suffer outages all day long and then promptly shut up shop at sunset.

Instead of panicking we could have tried something less drastic to begin with. But no, that would have made too much sense. Karachi must be the only city on the planet with poorly-lit roads and parks that can, unlike Barbados, hold day-night matches. Try turning off all the floodlights in these parks that guzzle electricity and are aesthetically offensive to boot.

Make sure streetlights are switched off at sunrise. Cut the power to all the billboards that blight the city like eczema. Firms that endorse the idea can extract PR mileage out of their new-found corporate social responsibility credentials, or CSR as the ‘dynamic’ types call it. For the companies that don’t like it, too bad. Refund a portion of their money if they’ve paid up front for illuminated billboards.

For the time being, let’s not light up monuments and historical buildings just so that they look pretty at night. There’s nothing pretty about life in the concrete jungle and these cosmetic touches don’t help. That said, the two-day weekly holiday for government organisations may not be a bad idea given the amount of work they do.

Of course none of this would have been necessary if KESC had increased its generation capacity, as it was supposed to by April this year. But that would have meant tackling root causes and that, again, is not our strongest suit.

Consider in passing the ban on thin polythene bags, something I have been advocating in print since 1991 but only because we as a society can’t get the basics right. Karachi needs a ban on polythene bags only, and only, because our municipal authorities have consistently failed to manage the city’s solid waste and we, the residents, cannot learn not to litter.

If garbage was collected regularly across the city, not just in Defence, there would be no plastic bags choking sewers and polluting the air when they are burnt along with other trash. And who sets these fires? Usually employees of the city government. Can’t be bothered to pick up the trash, so let’s just burn the lot.

Sadly we have lost the ability — if we ever had it — to plan, to think ahead. But that is hardly surprising in a culture of instant gratification where a slogan like “aaj aur abhi!” holds great appeal for upstarts and privileged alike.

Enough said, for now.
imalik@dawn.com