The destroying of nests
KARACHI: When a sparrow is building a nest outside your window or at any other undesirable place, it is best to stop it then and there and throw away the bits of dry grass or splinters it has collected to give it a message of not being welcome. But once it has built its nest, elders and wise people advise that it be left alone, because destroying it would also mean throwing out the eggs in that nest or the chicks that hatch out of those eggs. In a way you would be displacing or punishing several innocent lives for the mistake of one.
This is exactly what is going on at Moon Garden. The eight-storey residential complex is said to have been raised illegally on an encroached piece of Pakistan Railways land. There is also a railway track, although covered with wild plantation now as it has remained unused for years after the winding up of Karachi Circular Railway, running by it. During the time it was being determined that what to do about the illegal occupation and construction on the piece of land, the builders of Moon Garden carried on with their work, booked apartments, completed the building and handed over possession to unsuspecting buyers, most of whom moved into the place and have been living there for over three years now.
Still, the truth comes out sooner or later. After proving that the construction is in fact illegal and on government land, the people living in Moon Garden have been told to vacate the building, which is to to be demolished. “But it is our home, where do we go?” says Sabah, a young girl.