It seems Karachiites are destined to suffer horrors just for living in Karachi. What with the un-remitting targeted killings, galloping inflation, inefficient and corrupt administration, frequent strikes and stoppages of work and city transport, senseless arson and mayhem, a clue-less and callous political leadership, hoarding, profiteering and gouging the public, shabby civic services, noise dirt and filth, water power and gas shortages, there are the added catastrophes in waiting (both natural and man-made) on horizon.
A report (Tribune, Saturday March 11) says KESC plans loadshedding of 11 hours a day starting any time now! The tsunami triggered by an 8.9 degree earthquake in Japan with 8 metre waves, has the potential to hit Pakistan coastal waters any time soon, besides the fact that Karachi itself sits on a major fault-line that could throw up a terrific earthquake or tsunami of its own.
The question is - are the citizenry of Karachi and other potentially vulnerable areas prepared to face such disasters? More to the point, are the city, district, or provincial (to say nothing of the Federal) governments, aware of, or alive to the dangers? Are we at all equipped to face the mishaps?
This is not just an alarmist's doomsday prediction. Others, better equipped than us, have suffered the onslaught of nature's fury despite all precautions, while we lack even a basic concept of the necessary preparedness, as our complacency and heartless indifference to human suffering during recent floods and earlier earthquakes has amply shown. Only God Almighty can help us!
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