What happened to the roads of Karachi?

• Zaina Nauman Afzal
• Jun 13, 2024
• 4 min read

If you inform someone from Karachi that rain is imminent, the reaction this statement will elicit will not be a positive one. For years, the intense showers in Karachi paired with the lack of adequate drainage systems have resulted in nothing but death and destruction every year come monsoon season, and thousands of traumatized civilians. In the name of fixing the drainage systems, the Sindh government has been funding a project focused on the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the city. Yet why is it that till today, the city has seen no improvement and is arguably worse than before, with countless parts of Karachi dug up or closed off, all in the name of this so-called project? Who is to blame?

         For context, this project began in September of 2022 and was aimed to be completed by the end of 2023. According to Project Director Irfan Ahmed, the plan was to ‘widen the stormwater drains along the roads, install pipes in residential areas for the transportation of silted water after rains, and set up solar-based street lights in the aforementioned areas’. Coming up at midway through 2024, and the end is nowhere in sight. As a university student who goes back to Karachi for the holidays, I can positively state that the city is no longer recognizable. 5 minute drives triple in length due to the numerous back alley roads one needs to take, as the main routes are all under construction with workers everywhere. Walking to a friends house entails precariously balancing along the sidewalk so as to not fall into the looming holes along the road. All for what? The delay in progress has shattered the illusion that the work is being done for the good of civilians in the city, and as monsoon season creeps closer, worry spreads amongst the locals. For if you thought it was bad before, you cant imagine it now.

  Monsoon season in Karachi is incomparable to anything else. Roads turned into rivers with only the roofs of cars visible from surrounding buildings. Electrified water from broken cables. Basements flooded. Homes destroyed. Thousands of car accidents. Hundreds of deaths. Now imagine it all happening again with every second road being dug up. Once the rain starts pouring and the holes are filled, the ability to differentiate between an intact road and a huge 10 feet deep is indistinguishable. I fear for those in Karachi; I pray for their well being once monsoon begins.

          The problem with not only Karachi, but this country in general, is the systemic corruption that is present at all levels. When you take a project that has over Rs. 10 billion invested into it for the sake of the betterment of social well being, even if the intentions are positive from the top, on a micro level there is some level of fraudulence that leads to personal gain at the cost of the rest of society. This project aside, the quality of roads in Karachi is so abysmal that they themselves break every few months due to improper implementation or poor quality as a direct result of lack of materials due to lack of funding – the money is present, but pocketed by those who want it more. Those in positions of power get roads built, destroy them, and repeat the same process again till their pockets are overflowing.

         Another major problem is the underpaid workers. Each year Karachi is the hottest its ever been, with heat waves upon heat waves and a multitude of weather warnings. Yet there are poor, uneducated workers doing manual labor in peak summertime building the roads that are used by millions. And they are so ridiculously underpaid it is laughable. People pass the off commentary of workers always complaining and going on strike. I feel it is completely justified. They deserve so much better. In this situation, they hold the power; they can delay the construction of these roads, and they do so. Can we really fault them for that?

         You know the situation is dire when the government finally completes one project and everyone is raving about how amazing it is. The roads on Bukhari Commercial were recently completed, and as they had their debut, all of social media was in awe of the sheer quality that was produced, stating how driving on the roads was ‘basically like not being in Pakistan, that’s how good it was’. I really am speechless. It seems we are so used to having to drive around construction every day that the absence of it evokes a (misplaced) gratitude and praise of the government like no other. It seems the bar is dropping lower and lower everyday, and we are not doing much to stop it. This needs to change.

        Unfortunately, I do not see an immediate solution to this problem. The fact of the matter is that these problems exist on so many levels and to so many complexities that trying to resolve them all is near close to impossible. Holding those in power accountable for their actions is beyond important lest they remain in control over our lives the way they are today. God, I really hope it doesn’t rain this year. Feel free to let me know your thoughts on the matter!