KARACHIITES NUMBNESS IN THE FACE OF RAIN

“ Living in Karachi during the monsoon season is like living on the beach; you're always on the lookout for the next wave that will sweep you away ”

If you're searching for a case study to investigate the situation in Karachi, look no further. Have you ever seen how the monsoon season is covered in the mainstream media? Take a careful look at it, and you'll find all the answers to where the disparity between the cities resides. You'll discover how other cities are managed, as well as the injustices that Karachi people confront.

It's very probable that you'll see anything like this “Lahore main kahein halki tou kahein teez baarish k baad shehar mein khoobsurat mausam khushgawar”, “Abre kaarm se shehhar e islamambad ki khobsurti or nikhar gayi” with a delight music on the background. Karachi, on the other hand, is a whole different story, since the city is mired in sorrow so is the music of the package that gets played every time it rains. Rain and the term misery go hand in hand for karachiites during the monsoon season.

Every year, Karachi drowns, making monsoon an annual exhausting experience for Karachiites. Monsoon in Karachi is two moments of joy interwoven by memorable agony, and it's a shame that the metropolitan city's infrastructure is so inadequate and unsuitable.

The news you will get from Karachi is frequently about children drowning in a gutter or about this number of people electrocuted to death due to the city's heavy rainfall. Houses submerged in water, and residents unable to drain the water, they wait for help from authorities. No, it doesn't stop here anyway; people have been reported to die in ambulances due to a lack of transportation to the hospital. Several road accidents have occurred, as well as power outages. Because there is no electricity, you must survive against the oppressive humidity.

The cause for this is that the gutters have been clogged with plastics and trash. The road is fractured in various places, making it extremely difficult for traffic to flow smoothly. During rain, broken and uneven wires become twisted, making it difficult for people to spot them. The issues are well defined, and the solution has not yet to be discovered or requires a technology that we have yet to develop. The city just requires aggressive management that stays to its agenda and considers the problem from the minute it is identified.

Monsoon in Karachi is such a traumatic experience that it takes a toll on the residents' minds, making life nearly unbearable for a few weeks. Residents' only alternative is typically to wait for the sun to be extreme once more and soak up all of the harm caused by the clouds.. And, putting all of this aside, can you find one Karachi who claims that Karachi and monsoon are or will ever be a pleasant affair? You won't, and that's when you'll realize that karachiites' numbness in the face of rain is real.

And the reasons for numbness are many, Karachi is the city that has survived utter violence. Karachi has a long history of unrest caused by sectarian, ethnic, and political conflict. In recent years, political groups competing for power have dragged the city into a cycle of violence, which appears to be worsening. Now that all of that has passed, the monsoon has arrived for the karachiites. Karachiites are not deserving of such treatment. Every sensible person knows that declaring an emergency and forming an action squad to sink all the houses constructed on the nallas is not a good idea.

This is the twenty-first century, and the fact that Karachi has to go through this every year is a failure of the entire country, not just the authorities.

With all his love and respect for the city, a lonesome karachiites can’t achieve much. Every time he is warned that the monsoon is approaching, he is well aware of the suffering that would ensue. If only the misery caused by the rain was Karachiites' fault in the first place. The value of life in the city is often miscalculated by authorities in Karachi.

It is past time for this matter to be addressed and rectified once and for all, as well as the underlying issues so that the suffering of the Karaciites can come to an end, and the city that generates about 55% of national revenue is treated with the respect it deserves.