THE panel of experts representing the UN that had come to study and propose ways on how to move forward vis-à-vis the Karachi Development Plan laid out by the Karachi Development Authority (KDA) — as mentioned last week in these pages — presented its report to the Policy Advisory and Steering Committee on Oct 10, 1972. The international panel suggested that the alternatives plans envisaged in the first cycle report [by the KDA] should be considered only as polarised models for development strategies on a spectrum of policy choices. It recommended that decisions within the viable range of policy alternatives should aim at providing low-income groups with a standard of living in terms of income, services, housing and facilities. However, the need to increase the productive capacity without which no equity could be expected must receive proper attention.

The report further read: “The panel wishes to make it quite clear that it has not taken either of the two physical layout maps presented in the first cycle report as being representative of an actual planning proposal for the development of Karachi. It accepts these as exploratory illustrative diagrams of the two fundamental alternative strategies set forth in the report. There are many physical development patterns which are possible in Karachi but specific recommendations on these will not be appropriate until the second cycle work is well under way. As a general principle, the panel favours physical development patterns that are responsive to mass transportation needs, expedite the provision of other public services and increases the efficiency of urban functions.”

On Oct 13, the Policy Advisory and Steering Committee for the Karachi Master Plan project agreed with the recommendations of the international advisory team, adding that physical development should be prepared for 1985. At the same time, long-term projections up to the year 2000 must be kept in view for anticipating certain critical needs, such as water.

But the city’s problems were, and still are, hydra-headed, including administrative matters tarred by political interferences. A story published in this newspaper on Oct 13 claimed that thousands of students were unable to get admission to schools in the city. Most of them were turned away under one pretext or another. In Korangi, Malir and Landhi, it was reported that headmasters and headmistresses were asking students to come with ‘recommendation slips’ from the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) office-bearers for admission to class VI and IX. Some parents complained that even the slips from PPP bosses of the area were not easy to get if they did not belong to the political party.

Things weren’t just murky on the administrative front: on the morning of Oct 14, with respect to climate, too, a thick blanket of mist covered the city reducing visibility to a great extent. According to weather experts, south-westerly winds and growing differences between maximum and minimum temperatures were the main factors responsible for the misty night and mornings in the metropolis. They said October in Karachi was known as a month of mist and fog with moisture of sea breeze visible in the air. It’s also notorious for the hot sun. Sweltering days and cold nights in Karachi generally indicated farewell to the second summer, typical of the city.

Published in Dawn, October 12th, 2022