- Thursday, April 25, 2024
By: Chandrashekar Bhat
THE CONTINUED demolition of houses along two prominent stormwater drains in Pakistan’s largest city of Karachi is rendering thousands of people homeless.
Earlier this year, the local administration began the demolition of the houses leased by the government within nine metres on either side of the drains – Gujjar and Orangi nullahs – as the choking of the waterways resulted in the flooding of the city in 2020.
Pakistan’s Supreme Court refused to stay the demolition, saying the leasing of the houses along the drains was illegal.
That ruling has dashed the last hopes of affected residents, as activists said the structures were being razed to build roads along the drains and the chocking the waterways during heavy rains was “merely an excuse”.
As the houses are turning into rubble, people rendered homeless have been forced to spend nights on the lawns under the open sky. They were concerned about their situation worsening when the rainy season begins later this year.
When the demolition exercise is completed, at least 100,000 people are expected to be rendered homeless and 21,000 children will be out of school, Dawn said in its editorial, referring to the scale of the crisis.
Although the Sindh government has promised Rs 20,000 (£91) per month for two years to the affected people, it is hardly worth the pain, according to activists.
Many residents said they have not received the money from the administration and others are not sure if alternative houses promised by the government under a resettlement plan will become a reality any time soon.
A forum of the Orangi Nullah evacuees said the government is harsh on the poor while it has turned a blind eye on the illegalities committed by the rich. Its head Arsalan Ghani claimed that no action is taken against elite housing societies established after cutting down mangrove forests.
Sindh’s information minister played down the issue, saying fewer than five per cent of the residents are against the demolition. He said the government would rehabilitate the affected people.
