See My Karachi With My Eyes

Karachi started as a small fishing village called Mai KOLACHI. With the annexation of Sindhh by the British in 1843 it changed into a town. Its naturally protected harbour and moderate climate made it a summer resort for Sindh. It was reputed to be the cleanest city of the sub-continent till 1947 with a population of 200,000. Karachi was transformed into an unmanageably big city with the establishment of Pakistan. It was the first capital of the federation from 1947 to 1960 before Islamabad was built. Being a port city millions of refugees from all over India streamed in here and gave it an unprecedented vitality and multicultural dimension. Today, its population exceeds 13 million. The main attractions of Karachi are the sea, the shopping and some fine specimen of Victorian architecture and modern buildings and international cuisine.

Karachi is the economic and commercial capital of Pakistan and an important regional port. It is located on the coast of the Arabian Sea, northwest of the Indus River delta. Karachi accounts for the largest share of Pakistan's gross domestic product and generates about 65% of the national revenue. Karachi claims the highest per capita income in South Asia and is the nucleus of regional business and technological activities. The city has one of the highest literacy rates in Pakistan and is the home of several important academic and research institutions.

Map of Karachi

 

Some basic facts about Karachi :

Province	Sindh
Location	24°51′36″N, 67°00′36″E
Altitude	8 meters AMSL
Area	3,527 km²
Density	3,394 persons/km²
Calling code	021
Time zone	PST +05:00 ahead of GMT
No. of Towns	18
No. of Union Councils	178
City Mayor (Nazim)	Syed Mustafa Kamal
Population
Census (1998)	9,339,023
Estimate (2006)	11,969,284

Geography and climate

Karachi is located in southern Pakistan in the north of Arabian Sea. Physically it is mostly comprises flat or rolling plains with hills on the western and northern boundaries of the urban sprawl. Two rivers pass through the city: the Malir River ( north east to centre) and the Lyari River ( north to south). The Karachi Harbour is a protected bay to the south west of the city. The southern limit of the city is the Arabian Sea and forms a chain of warm water beaches that are rich in natural beauty.
Karachi is located on the coast and as a result has a relatively mild climate. The level of precipitation is low for most of the year. However, due to the city's proximity to the sea, humidity levels usually remain high throughout the year. The city enjoys mild winters and hot summers. Since summer temperatures are quite high (the end of April through the end of August are approximately 35 to 40 degrees Celsius), the winter months (November through March) are the best time to visit Karachi.  

Demographics

Currently Karachi population is believed to between 14 and 15 millions. The linguistic distribution of the city in 1998 census is: Urdu speaking 48.52%; Punjabi 13.94%; Sindhi 7.22%; Pashto 11.42%; Balochi4.34%; Seraiki2.11%; others 12.4%. The others include Gujarati, Dawoodi Bohra, Memon, Brahui, Makrani, Khowar, Burushaski, Arabic, Persian and Bengali. The religious breakup of the city is as follows: Muslim 96.49%; Christian 2.35%; Hindu0.83%; Qadiani 0.17%; others 0.13%. The others include Parsi, Jews and Buddhist

Government and administrative division:

Karachi is divided into 18 towns and 1 78 union councils. While Defence Housing Authority is neither a town of Karachi nor a part of any town; and it is managed and operated by the Pakistan Army. 

Administrative towns :

Baldia Town	Bin Qasim Town	Gadap Town
Gulberg Town	Gulshan Town	Kiamari Town
Korangi Town	Jamshed Town	Landhi Town
Liaquatabad Town	Lyari Town	New Karachi Town
North Nazimabad Town	Malir Town	Orangi Town
Saddar Town	Shah Faisal Town	SITE Town

Source: findpk.com

Over 150 buildings In Karachi ‘Dangerous’

 The Karachi Buildings Control Authority (KBCA) has declared as many as 157 buildings "dangerous", including 22 protected heritage sites, said Sindh Culture Minister Sassui Palijo at the Sindh Assembly session on Friday.
Responding to questions asked by different members during the question hour, the minister said that the issue of repairing historical buildings will be raised at a meeting of the National Heritage Committee, which is headed by the Sindh chief secretary.

 
She admitted, however, that the committee has not had a meeting since the past six months due the chief secretary's engagement is post-flood rehabilitation efforts. Palijo said the Federal government was also providing funds for the maintenance of Mohatta Palace, and the setting up of a new museum complex.
The federal government has provided Rs25 million while the Sindh government granted Rs10 million for the project during the financial year 2009-10, she said, adding that the museum complex will be a source of pride not only for Sindh and Karachi but also Pakistan.
In reply to another question, the minister said that the construction of a road affecting the Mohenjo-Daro was stopped after the Sindh government intervened into the matter. She explained that the National Highway Authority wanted to use some part of the historical site for the construction of road, but was stopped from doing so.

 
Responding to yet another query, Palijo said that a police constable named Yaqoob Shah and family members of a local, Raju Kokri, have occupied the historical site of Nehal Darya Mandar in Thatta. The Sindh government has issued directives to the district administration to get the site vacated, she added.
Construction of roads: Sindh Works and Communication Minister Manzoor Wasan informed the house that repairs of 1,178 kilometres roads had almost been completed under a short-term plan. Responding to a point of order raised by PPP member Ghulam Shah Jilani, the minister said that work on the long-term project of roads would be completed within a period of one-and-a-half years.

 
The PPP member had complained of the deteriorated state of roads in Taluka Johi, District Dadu following the floods. Another PPP member, Jam Tamach Unnar suggested that an administrative secretary of a department should not be transferred before two to three years from a department for continuity of development work.

Source: pakistantoday.com.pk

KESC Told To File Breakdown Of Fuel Adjustment Charges

The Sindh High Court directed the Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) on Tuesday to file a breakdown of fuel adjustment charges to determine whether such charges should be passed on to the consumers or otherwise. 

The court was hearing identical petitions filed against the privatisation of the KESC and an increase in the electricity tariff. The petitioners, including the Law Foundation and the Sindh High Court Bar Association, submitted that the electricity tariff increase approved for the Karachi Electric Supply Company by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority was decided on the basis of misrepresentation and without evaluation; therefore, further increases in tariff within the present framework would be illegal. 

 
While dealing with the case on June 25 last year, the court had restrained the KESC from passing fuel adjustment charges on to consumers in its post- March (2010) bills till further decision. The court, however, allowed the privatised power utility to charge fuel adjustment cost to consumers up to March 2010.

In compliance with the court order, Prof Akhtar Nadyme of the NED University filed an expert report on the fuel adjustment charges. He submitted that electricity charges in any tariff were composed of various fully integrated components with fuel adjustment charges being one of them, saying that these charges were neither independent nor mutually exclusive.

He opined that an isolated study of one of the components such as fuel adjustment charges could lead to conclusions that that would not necessarily reflect the true picture and the entire tariff needed to be studied as an identity. According to the expert, fuel adjustment charges no more contribute significantly to power bills as tariff is now being revised almost every quarter and this revision is not restricted to the impact of fuel prices.

He submitted that the formula used for the calculation fuel adjustment charges was based on two parameters, i.e. the fuel price and the heat rate. He said that the fuel price was not in control of either the KESC or Nepra; however, heat-rate represented the efficiency by which fuel was converted into electricity by a given plant.

He mentioned that poor quality of operation and maintenance practices had resulted in higher heat rates. He submitted that Nepra had established heat rates for each plant, saying energy audits of power plants should be periodically conducted to ensure that plants were being operated at the maximum possible efficiencies and the burden of higher fuel consumption due to an inefficient operation and lack of maintenance was not passed on to the consumers as like fuel adjustment charges.

He submitted that energy audits would identify areas of improvement of heat rates and these energy audits should be conducted by independent agencies, saying it was necessary that the power producers should implement and invest in improvement schemes.

The counsel for Nepra and the KESC submitted that on the court’s order the KESC had been restrained from passing fuel adjustment charges on to consumers. However, a statement was also filed by Nepra saying no decrease or increase in fuel adjustment charges was passed on to the consumers from April 2010 to April 2011 and it would not be conducive to maintaining such a state of affair for a very long period. It said that when fuel adjustment charges would be charged it would be a gross burden on the consumers.

A division bench of the SHC, headed by Chief Justice Mushir Alam, directed the KESC to file a breakdown of fuel adjustment charges worked out at actual as has been done by Nepra so as to determine whether such fuel adjustment charges should be passed on to consumers or otherwise.

The court also asked Nepra’s counsel to assist the court to establish that if at all these charges were passed on to the consumers it would be fatal in the smooth functioning of the present mechanism. The hearing was adjourned till June 8, as the petitioners sought time to examine the expert report and submit comments on it.

custom appellate tribunal: The Sindh High Court restrained a member judicial of the custom appellate tribunal from performing duties till further orders.

The court was dealing with the petition of a Member Inspection Team that sought a judicial order against the failure of the law and justice ministry to appoint a judicial officer as a member judicial of the custom appellate tribunal. In its petition, the MIT submitted that instead of issuing a notification of the names sent by the MIT, the ministry of law and justice appointed M Arif Moton on a contractual basis.

Remand Home: The Sindh High Court directed its Member of Inspection Team-I to inspect the facilities at the Remand Home for juvenile offenders, recently built in the Garden area and submit a report within two weeks.

By: Jamal Khurshid
Source: thenews.com.pk

Karachi In The Near Future

 

Source: Google.com