Karachi in danger

More than most other cities in the country, Karachi is in danger of a catastrophic event. Its costal location means it will suffer the ravages of climate change but, instead of taking measures to counteract the effects of global warming, Karachi’s rulers seem to be trying to hasten it. A hearing by a judicial commission into the provincial government’s failure to provide the city’s residents with clean drinking water and a healthy environment has found that much of Karachi is at risk of being submerged as land grabbers have started crushing the hills in Mangophir. This could lead to overflowing water from the Hub Dam washing away the city.  The commission has ordered the police to immediately stop all illegal mining and excavation of sand from near a water filter in the hills. Even if the commission is successful in preventing the encroachment and destruction of the hills, the problem is widespread. The notorious land mafia, obviously being supported by the powerful, is known for being ruthless and unscrupulous. It snatches any land it can get its hands on, does not follow building codes or maintain safety standards. And now, by taking land that is meant to protect the city, it is putting everyone at risk. The problem does not exist only in Mangophir. For over a decade, local and provincial governments have been carrying out reclamation and dredging along the coast without any regard to the disaster it is inviting.

The immediate impact of reclamation – and the selling of the coastline for massive housing and commercial projects – is in the congested water supply and the adverse impact it has had on the drainage system. Any natural disasters that hit in the form of cyclones will be more destructive than ever since the mangrove trees that provide some protection have been felled. Coastal villages are already being inundated because of the soil erosion caused by dredging. Meanwhile, the government can’t even manage a simple task like waste collection. Garbage is dumped in storm water drains, most of which are now clogged so that even a little bit of rain brings the city to a halt. In the long term, climate change will make most of these coastal areas uninhabitable – and yet the city continues to develop in these areas and even reclaims more land.  The ongoing rains in Karachi have once again shown us that because of neglect and corruption, roads are inundated with water and exposed electricity wires often cause fatalities. We can expect more catastrophic floods, droughts and other extreme weather events in the near future. The time for drastic action is already here and will require the government to put environmental health before development projects. All reclamation work should be stopped and there should be no more felling of mangrove forests, which used to cover 400,000 hectares in 1947 and only cover 70,000 hectares today. Should we not take this problem seriously today, Karachi as we know it will not exist          tomorrow.