KARACHI: A place that was once known by the people of Karachi for its waste and neglect now provides greenery, cleanliness, and fresh air. The inauguration ceremony of the newly built Karachi Green Belt Park Shireen Jinnah Colony took place on Saturday under the auspices of Mayor Barrister Murtaza Wahab turning an old waste dumping site into a proper park.
It represents a small contribution to the already meager provision of open green space in Karachi, a city of 20 million people in which parks are a privilege rather than an ordinary feature of urban life.
A Pledge for All Neighborhoods
Mayor Wahab took advantage of his swearing-in ceremony to make a statement that was as relevant to the political geography of Karachi as it was to the park itself.
“No matter if it’s Liaquatabad, Orangi or Shireen Jinnah Colony, I will serve every area of Karachi.”
Mayor Barrister Murtaza Wahab
The specific inclusion of Liaquatabad and Orangi, which have been underserved for many years in the past in terms of urban planning, together with the Shireen Jinnah Colony reveals the intention of the PPP government of the city in highlighting their development as balanced and not limited to high profile regions only.
Parliamentary leader of Pakistan People’s Party in the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation, Mr. Karamullah Waqasi, together with other elected members and party members were also present at the opening ceremony.
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From Garbage Dump to Public Park – The Transition
The Karachi Green Belt Park Shireen Jinnah Colony was not born out of thin air. It was made very clear by the mayor himself that this particular piece of land was being used as a dumping ground for garbage – one of those many unofficial places where garbage is accumulated in various parts of Karachi.
Making such a place into an established green public park does not simply involve landscaping work. It involves removing the garbage that has accumulated on this land, making the ground fit for construction purposes and establishing a proper maintenance system so that this particular place does not return back to its original form soon after construction.
Karachi Lacks Adequate Public Greens
One green area in Shireen Jinnah Colony is a good start but far from being enough. Karachi has one of the lowest ratios of public green area per capita compared to other cities of South Asia. The city’s rapid growth rate, lack of urban planning, and inadequate funding for parks have left the majority of neighborhoods, especially those that belong to low-income citizens, devoid of green areas.
The Karachi Green Belt Park in Shireen Jinnah Colony is an example of neighborhood-level interventions that can be multiplied in scores of neighborhoods at once in order to address the issue. The mayor’s commitment to serving all areas of the city equally offers a proper political structure. It depends on sustained funding and maintenance now.
Nayab Fatima is a media professional specializing in fact-based journalism, research, and analytical reporting on technology, telecom, aviation, and automobiles.
