Gujjar nullah in Karachi. More than 4,000 concrete structures have to be demolished on both sides of the drain, according to the Urban Resource Centre. (Photo supplied)
Mandha Bibi is on the brink of losing her home of 50 years, a tiny one-room house she shares with her daughter on the bank of a drain in Karachi.
“We are
hearing that cranes will be arriving any time soon to demolish 70 percent of my
house. They have already destroyed hundreds of other houses along the drain,”
Bibi told UCA News.
The
80-year-old Christian widow and her daughter live in the 50-foot house built by
her late husband five decades ago.
Ironically, she is a pensioner of Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC), the public body which has been carrying out a so-called anti-encroachment drive.
Bibi says
daughter Shazia serves the community by teaching local children and the
two survive on her pension.
“All we
are left with is this house comprising one room, a kitchen and a toilet. Where
will we go if it gets demolished? The government hasn’t given a single penny to
compensate our loss despite promises,” she said.
Bibi is
one of the 600 Christian families who are going to be displaced by the
anti-encroachment drive at Gujjar nullah (drain).
The
decision to remove encroachments and clean up the pollution and sludge
from three city water drains was taken in August last year in the aftermath of
severe urban flooding caused by record rainfall.
The task
was handed over to Frontier Workers Organization, a military engineering and
construction organization.
There are
over 4,000 concrete structures which have to be demolished on both sides of
Gujjar nullah, according to the Urban Resource Centre.
The
survey conducted by the district administration and KMC found that there are
3,100 people affected along Gujjar nullah as their houses have to be at least
"30 percent demolished."
At
Mehmoodabad nullah, there are 239 structures which will be affected, out of
which 58 were at least 30 percent demolished.
KMC has
38 nullahs and they are all being cleaned under the World Bank project SWEEP.
Sunila
Anwar, a social mobilizer of Caritas Karachi, lamented the total lack of
empathy on the part of the Sindh provincial government.
“Thousands
of Christians, Muslims and Hindus residing along the drain have been rendered
homeless without being compensated in the form of land or cash. They have
nowhere to go,” she told UCA News.
“Most of
the affected families have been living here for five to six decades. When the
Lyari Express project was launched, those affected were given land and cash
well in advance. We are not against the project at all. Our protest is with the
manner it is being done.”
According
to Mansha Noor, executive director of Caritas Pakistan Karachi, monthly
rainfall was normally 68 millimeters in Karachi but last year 587 millimeters
was recorded in August alone. Since no system existed to clear the rainwater,
residents suffered a huge urban flood.
“Many
houses were destroyed, streets resembled rivers, cars and motorcycles floating,
and people swimming. The true hurt and damage was visible after the water
receded,” he said.
Caritas
Pakistan Karachi reached suffering people and distributed food, temporary
shelters and even some medical facilities in collaboration with other
organizations.
"But
we cannot ignore the causes, including the accumulation of waste along the
storm drains that run through the city and even the illegal construction of
houses which prevented rainwater from draining," Noor added.
Zahid
Farooq, joint director of the Urban Resource Center, told UCA News
that Karachi has many development projects such as the Circular Railway,
regional public transit system and the restoration of drains.
“Yes, we
accept that they are for the betterment of the people and for the future of our
city, but before the government started demolishing houses, small businesses
and shops, people had been promised that no houses would be demolished until
alternative shelter was provided," he said.
“None of
the residents know when and where they will be given alternative housing. The
affected people are sitting on their demolished house’ debris. Even we have not
seen the environmental impact assessment that concerns how much money will be
given as compensation to displaced people.”
Farooq said
the government should share its plan because it is connected
with people's livelihoods, earnings, education, social and religious status.
“We are
ready to assist the government and help people who are having a difficult
situation because of this,” he said.
Karachi
Bachao Tehreek (Save Karachi Movement), a body representing social activists,
has announced plans to hold a protest on March 6 against the
ongoing demolition drive.
It called
for the government to immediately halt the operation to demolish houses and
conduct a survey as per the “one person, one house" policy of the
World Bank. All schools, churches and mosques likely to be affected should be
documented.
The group
demanded that government pay 1 million rupees (US$6,325) per displaced
family and 500,000 rupees for the mental trauma they had to endure.
Published in UCANews By Zahid Hussain & Kashif Anthony March 01, 2021