Usman Town in Korangi Sector 50 is one of many slum areas where a large Bengali community resides. Cases of harassment, pickups by the police and National Aliens Registration Authority (Nara), have become a norm for the residents here.
This small town is just one of the many in Korangi, housing approximately 100,000 Bengalis, among which 17,000 are registered voters. Having no metalled roads and characterised by the stench of spoiled fish, the town is a prime case of government’s neglect.
Muhammad Hossein, a resident of the area, claims that he was born in Pakistan, but the police and Nara harass him and his friends as if they were foreigners living illegally. When stopped for random checks, their pockets are almost always emptied. When Nara takes them away, the bribes are higher, he said.
Ittehad Town, in Korangi 2-1/2, is another settlement of Bengalis, offering more of the same stories, only in a slightly better setting. Here the roads are metalled and the houses have been leased. These leases were issued on the basis of old identity cards.
There are a few legal connections for water, power, gas and sewerage in Usman Town. Settlements such as Ibrahim Hyderi, Akbar Shahkot, Bilal Colony and Mohammadi Colony face the same problems. —GA