The city of lights Karachi, having sporadic heritage buildings in the city’s center, is a tale of the negligence of the Sindh Government as its antique sites have been left at the mercy of the weather as well as builder mafia.
Sources revealed that the city government and builder mafia are allegedly the perpetrators behind the dismantling city’s old structures to replace them with new commercial sites.
Many aged buildings in different old areas of the metropolis including Saddar, Lighthouse, Bandar Road, etc have started losing their splendor as the officials have disregarded their maintenance.
The negligent culture department has not taken action against the illegal occupation of a number of buildings in the related areas and even turned a blind eye to the demolition of the antique structures by the builder mafia.
In 1729, the city of Karachi came into existence. Initially, the fishers settled in Manora and later in 1839, the Britishers arrived in the port city and constructed buildings, hospitals, parks, and churches.
Architect Marvi Mazhar said that the people of Karachi are unaware of the importance of national heritage.
She emphasized that the Sindh culture department should sensitize the masses about the importance of the national heritage.
Mazhar added that the maintenance of the buildings will directly impact local tourism and economy.
Former representative of Pakistan to United Nations (UN) Abdullah Hussain Haroon said the governments around the world were responsible for the maintenance of the heritage sites but in Karachi, he lamented, it doesn’t happen.
Haroon said British General Sir Charles Napier titled Karachi as the ‘Queen of the East’ because of the houses consisting of old wood, old glass, and marbles.
The view from Bandar Road to Cant Station was beautiful however the beauty was deliberately marred.
The former administrator of Karachi Fahim-uz-Zaman said that earlier, the heritage buildings were the residences of Hindus living in the city but after the formation of Pakistan, they were taken over by Muslims who had migrated from India.
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The construction of shops has not only marred the grandeur of the heritage buildings in Karachi but has certainly spoiled the overall outlook of the city’s old area.
Senior journalist Akhtar Baloch said that the culture department doesn’t take responsibility for the preservation of the antique sites in the metropolis.
He added that despite the law that a building aging over 70-years would not be demolished, the authorities are not bothered to check if the law was being implemented.