Karachi [Pakistan], November 18 : Karachi's residents are expressing deep frustration over the deteriorating condition of the city's infrastructure, alleging that successive governments have abandoned even basic civic responsibilities. Residents say that road projects are repeatedly started and then left incomplete, leaving large stretches of the city dug up, impassable and unsafe.
Residents complain that authorities begin work on new roads only to excavate the same areas again. "They start every little road project in Karachi and then abandon it. They never complete it," a resident said, pointing to major roads left half-dug for months.
Citizens say neither the water nor the gas supply system is functioning correctly, and the lack of coordination between civic departments has turned the city into a maze of trenches and rubble.
"If it rains here, everything will get worse. The roads will get jammed. If they completed the work, it would be great, but they don't," another resident said, adding that traffic snarls have become unbearable as vehicles weave through broken roads and open pits.
Many residents accuse political parties of neglecting Karachi's needs entirely. "No political party is doing anything. The parties that come here fill their bank accounts and leave," a resident said, alleging that individuals who were capable of improving the city were removed or sidelined, while those currently in positions of power "are only working for money."
Citizens also criticised the repeated digging of newly constructed roads. "After putting up a road, they dig it again. In the whole of Karachi, you can see gas lines in every lane. The roads that were made are being dug up, and gas lines are being put back in. If all this work had been done earlier, it would have been better," said another resident.
"If even 50 per cent of the tax collected from Karachi is given back to Karachi, the situation here can change," a resident said, accusing authorities of diverting funds into "their own accounts" rather than investing in the city's development. They also claim that potential investors willing to develop Karachi are discouraged or pushed out of Pakistan, further slowing down progress.
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