Rain is supposed to be the ultimate blessing of mama nature. And it may well hold true for most of the civilized world, but certainly not for Karachi.
Why? You may ask. Well, the answer is fairly simple really. While the other cities of the world if not the rest of Pakistan, boast of at least a semblance of a drainage system. Karachi meanwhile can only look at Moen jo daro with unconcealed envy. After all, that 5000 year plus old city had a fully self-sufficient drainage system that puts Karachi’s decrepit one to shame.
Come, the first moderate showers and the power bids adieu, regardless of the sweltering and humid atmosphere. But in hindsight, perhaps, that is just as well since live power lines tend to fall into the water with near monotonous regularity, frying just about any unfortunate soul that may be in the immediate vicinity.
As for the local and provincial government’s all too frequent (in fact downright ubiquitous) claims of cleaning up the “storm water” drains come every monsoon season. Well, that is another ‘storm in a tea cup’ for you. If, the drains have really being cleaned then how come they are merrily discharging their contents all over the road.
Even Shahrah-e-Faisal, Karachi’s main artery and the pride and joy of the current dispensation that masquerades as a government, is not exactly immune to the voracious discharges being spewed forth by these “freshly cleaned” storm water drains. However, the cleaning exercises do take place on a ‘war footing’ if one were to believe the press releases from the powers that be. Then what exactly is wrong? If the drains have been newly constructed and periodically cleaned at sporadic intervals then how come most of the city is underwater?
Untold billions of rupees are being spent on “development work” in this mega city and fresh drains are being constructed to ensure that such eventualities do not occur. But occur they do and repeatedly at that.
Right now there is a very high probability that the rains will continue during the Eid-ul-Azha festival as well. It is difficult to imagine the havoc that all those tons upon teeming tons of streaming entrails and discarded body parts will wreck on the non-existent waste disposal system that is already mostly underwater to begin with.
The pools of stagnant water will become breeding grounds for flies and other insects that will then proceed to feast on the discarded detritus of the millions of slaughtered animals in garbage dumps all over the city. The sewage water mixed with the offal would be ideal breeding grounds for not just insects but also mice and rats and other manners of vile pestilence that will sweep though the denizens of this hapless metropolis for the entire world, like the grim reaper with his scythe in his hand.
If we take the rains and Eid-ul-Azha both together, the outbreak of lethal contagions of almost biblical proportions seem almost inevitable. But the question is, does anyone really care… anymore?
