Tag: Karachi

  • Condoms in gutters blamed for Karachi’s sewerage problems

    Disposal of used contraceptives, such as condoms, in gutters has been causing sewerage problems in Karachi, the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) has said.

    According to reports, KWSB recovered a massive amount of used condoms while clearing a sewerage line on Thursday, which were affecting the flow of sewage and causing serious blockage problems.

    A KWSB official said the huge quantity of used contraceptives was found while a team was cleaning a sewerage line in Clifton Block 2. But this isn’t an isolated incident: the KWSB often finds items like these in sewer lines across the city.

    Water inflates the condoms up to 400 times their size, which blocks manholes and sewerage lines, the KWSB spokesperson explained. Such items must be disposed of in trash cans, he urged.

    The KWSB stressed the need for generating awareness about the issue and urged government departments and social organisations to play their role.

  • Street kids inaugurate a restaurant in Karachi

    Street kids inaugurate a restaurant in Karachi

    A local fast-food restaurant in Bahadurabad Karachi was inaugurated by a group of street kids, who were later invited inside to eat free food.

    Krispy2Go restaurant collaborated with Inheritors in Karachi, a social welfare organization, to introduce a different way of opening their new branch. About thirty-five street kids were invited on the day of the opening, to cut the ceremonial ribbon after which the restaurant workers served them food.

    Taking to social media, CEO Muhammad Azeem said “We don’t do this for publicity; it’s an honest approach to give a moment of happiness to underprivileged children. We have done similar drives in the past as well. We have invited such kids to our other restaurants and we also did many visits to centres where special kids are living their lives.”

    “Yes, this is our first attempt to do the opening with street kids but we have many such initiatives in the development phase in which we will collaborate more in such activities. This is to create awareness of such actions in society as we believe that every little step is important in its own space,” he added.

    Many people appreciated the restaurant for inviting poor kids for the inauguration, instead of inviting notable personalities, as other restaurants normally do.

  • Karachi wedding hall owners reject new COVID-19 SOPs

    Karachi wedding hall owners reject new COVID-19 SOPs

    Karachi’s wedding, banquet and lawn owners have rejected the new COVID-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs) rolled out by the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC) after a sharp surge in cases.

    The Karachi Marriage Hall, Lawn, Banquet Owners Association held a press conference at the press club on Saturday to denounce the government’s decision to ban indoor weddings.  

    The association said thousands of employees and other businesses linked with weddings will be affected due to more restrictions and bans. 

    The president of the association said that wedding hall owners and their thousands of employees had already faced severe financial problems when all the halls were closed between March 13 and September 15 during the lockdown period.

    The association members said that when halls reopened after September 15, they did not get business as most people prefer not to get married during Muharram and Safar, which took place after the halls were reopened. 

    The association said that there are around 800 wedding halls only in Karachi and that the living of 50,000 people and their families are linked to these halls. 

    “Around 70 to 80% of our employees work on daily wages,” he said, adding that the earning of such employees depended on daily wedding events.

    The association pointed out that there are roughly 13,000 wedding halls in the entire country, with which 650,000 labourers’ livelihoods are directly linked. Fifty percent of the city’s industries, the association highlighted, were directly and the rest of the 50% were indirectly linked to wedding halls. 

    “With the closure of the wedding halls due the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of labourers will be directly or indirectly affected,” said the association’s president. 

    The government had itself failed to limit the number of people attending its political gatherings and implement the SOPs, stated the association.

    “We want to bring this into your knowledge that wedding halls is the only industry which didn’t get any relief from the government since the lockdown of March 13,” said Raees. 

    He requested Prime Minister Imran Khan, the chief justice of Pakistan and army chief to look into the miseries of the wedding hall owners and their employees.

    “We demand SOPs be drafted for wedding ceremonies after taking us on board,” he said.

  • Bakhtawar Bhutto to get engaged this month

    Bakhtawar Bhutto to get engaged this month

    Bakhawar Bhutto-Zardari, daughter of former president Asif Ali Zardari and late prime minister (PM) Benazir Bhutto, is getting engaged to the son of a United States (US) based businessman on November 27.

    According to reports, the engagement ceremony of Bakhtawar and Mahmood Choudhry, son of Younas Choudhary, will be held on November 27 at Bilawal House Karachi.

    The organisers have requested all guests to get tested for COVID-19 and send the results via e-mail.

    “All attendees are requested to please email a scanned copy of their negative COVID-19 PCR test result 24 hours prior to attendance. This is a mandatory requirement for security clearance,” the invitation reads.

    The guests have also been asked not to bring mobile phones with them due to security purposes.

    “Please note — no photography or mobile phones will be permitted inside the venue and photographs will be available for all guests through our official photographer.”

    “We thank you in advance for adhering to our safety protocols to keep you and your loved ones safe, and enable us all to enjoy the occasion,” it added.

    While Bakhtawar is getting engaged, her elder brother and incumbent Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chief, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, still seems to be looking for his ideal life partner.

    View his exclusive interview with The Current to find out more:

  • Social media divided over ‘IBA students’ inappropriate activity in Karachi University parking’ report

    Social media divided over ‘IBA students’ inappropriate activity in Karachi University parking’ report

    Netizens are divided over a Times of Karachi report from Sunday wherein the media organisation had claimed initiation of action against at least four male and female students of the port city’s Institute of Business Administration (IBA) over “inappropriate activity”.

    According to the report, the four students, including two girls, were questioned by Karachi University (KU) guards over “inappropriate activity” in a vehicle with tinted windows, which was parked within the premises of the Karachi University (KU) on Sunday.

    “The KU administration will write a letter to IBA on Monday to ask them to investigate why students came to the university on Sunday and parked their tinted car at an abandoned place,” the report quoted sources as saying.

    While no official statement confirming or denying the incident has as of yet been issued by either of the two institutions, here’s what social media users have to say about it…

    TWITTER:

    https://twitter.com/iSadiaSheikh/status/1325475695775059968
    https://twitter.com/dsyedasad/status/1325475475511152640

    FACEBOOK:

    Have something to add to this story? Let The Current know in the comments

  • COVID-19: Karachi authorities seal several eateries for SOPs violation

    COVID-19: Karachi authorities seal several eateries for SOPs violation

    Authorities have sealed at least 14 restaurants and two gaming zones in the port city for violating the government’s COVID-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs).

    As per reports, Deputy Commissioner South Irshad Ali Sodhar said his team checked 41 restaurants, of which 17 were warned to follow the SOPs, while 11 were instantly sealed for not following the government’s directives at all. Three more eateries and two gaming zones were also shut down.

    “We inspected six shops and warned three of them to comply with the SOPs. That apart, we checked four wedding venues, issued warnings, and fined them with Rs185,000,” Sodhar told The News.

    Read more – Pakistan’s COVID-19 positivity nears 5%. What does that mean?

    Meanwhile, the Serena Mobile Market in North Nazimabad, that was sealed earlier on Monday for three days, has been reopened.

    Not only in Karachi, most restaurants in Lahore were also sealed at Mall1 which is located in Gulberg III.

    As Pakistan experiences the second wave of coronavirus, the country has reported 338,875 cases so far.

    Wearing a mask in confined indoor places, crowded spaces, bus stands, and inside public vehicles was declared mandatory for everyone and all commercial activities are allowed till 10 pm.

  • Karachi has worst transportation system in world: report

    Karachi has worst transportation system in world: report

    Karachi has one of the worst public transport systems in the world, with roads littered with potholes and traffic signals barely functional.

    Bloomberg, in a report on Karachi’s attempt to modernise its transport system, said public transport serves about 42 per cent of the commuters in decades-old buses that use the roof as a second deck for passengers at time.

    The report said that MA Jinnah Road, which connects central Karachi to the port, constantly faces severe traffic jams due to the absence of transportation infrastructure.

    Multiple attempts have been made to bring modern transportation to the port city, but they have hit a snag for lack of funds among other reasons.  “Multiple bus projects have been announced over the years but either they never started or were unable to sustain for more than a few years,” the news report said.

    Adam Weinstein, a research fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, Washington, said: “Karachi was once well-connected by a circular railway but corruption and mismanagement in the transportation sector brought the city to a grinding halt in the 1990s.”

    Many of the railway tracks have become illegal slums, where people have settled from smaller towns, he added.

    “Karachi, despite its importance, is a political orphan,” said Arsalan Ali Faheem, a consultant at Development Alternatives Incorporated, an international company that advises on development projects.

    A development project valued at Rs162 billion was announced in March last year by Prime Minister Imran Khan, but the city officials reported that no funds were released. The federal government in response said that it has spent Rs24.65 billion, and an allocation of Rs17.9 billion has been made for the current fiscal year.

  • Doctor identifies robber who looted him during treatment at Karachi hospital

    Doctor identifies robber who looted him during treatment at Karachi hospital

    A doctor at a Karachi hospital on Thursday identified his patient as a robber who robbed the doctor a few days back in the city. 

    According to reports, an injured person was brought to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital (ASH) in Karachi. During treatment, Dr Arif recognised him as the same person who had mugged him along with his partner some days back.

    The hospital’s administration informed the police about his presence and after further inquiry, it was revealed that the accused identified as Kashif had sustained injuries after he escaped arrest during a police encounter in the Bilal Colony area of the New Karachi.

    “We have recovered a 30-bore pistol from his possession and a mobile phone,” said the police, adding that the search for his accomplice is underway.

    The robber has been shifted to a ward after doctors said his condition was stable after initial treatment.

  • COVID-19: Shopping malls, restaurants, shops & marriage halls to close by 10 pm

    COVID-19: Shopping malls, restaurants, shops & marriage halls to close by 10 pm

    The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) has announced new coronavirus restrictions for cities and districts where COVID-19 cases have increased.

    According to a notification issued by the NCOC, all shopping malls, restaurants, shops and marriage halls are to shut by 10 pm from Thursday. The authority also directed public parks and recreational spots to be closed by 6 pm from Thursday.

    The cities where there restrictions have been imposed include Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Multan, Hyderabad, Gilgit, Muzaffarabad, Mirpur, Peshawar and Quetta.

    Meanwhile, the NCOC has also made it mandatory to wear face masks in confined spaces (indoors, public transport, outdoor crowded settings like markets and bus stands, railway stations, etc) and ordered the provincial governments to take strict actions against violators. The government has also said that those violating the order will be fined Rs6,000 to Rs35,000 and punishment of six-month imprisonment.

    NCOC Chairman Asad Umar also appealed to the people to take the virus seriously and follows the SOPs.

    It has emerged that a rise in coronavirus cases was recorded up to 80 percent in eleven major cities including Karachi, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Quetta, Multan, Hyderabad, Gilgit and Muzaffarabad.

    Pakistan has reported 331,108 coronavirus cases so far with with 3.08% positivity rate.

  • Pakistan reacts to Indian claims of civil war in Karachi with memes

    Pakistan reacts to Indian claims of civil war in Karachi with memes

    With Indians being brutally trolled by the entire world for sensationalising the rebellion of Sindh police officials with civil war claims, Twitter is flooding with memes depicting the war that not just Indian media but also prominent citizens are claiming is going on in the southeastern province of Pakistan.

    Amid the controversy surrounding Sindh police following Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Captain (r) Safdar’s arrest in Karachi, India on Wednesday once again lost it as it claimed that clashes were taking place between the army and the provincial police as a civil war erupted in the port city.

    READ: ‘IG was kidnapped’: Hamid Mir takes a dig at Kamran Khan for contesting his claim

    According to reports now retracted by multiple Indian media outlets, Karachi is burning with shootouts between civil and military bodies after the army took over the provincial metropolis and the control of all police stations as well as government buildings.

    This time, however, it wasn’t just Indian media that made baseless claims, cracking people up on this side of the border…

    “10 police officers of Sindh police martyred during their line of duty of saving people of Karachi from atrocities of army [sic],” prominent Indian lawyer Prashant Patel Umrao claimed.

    https://twitter.com/ippatel/status/1318743674105233408

    He went on to say that the United States (US) Navy may enter Karachi port soon, drawing strong reactions from Twitterati, and not just those from Pakistan.

    While many resorted to reacting strongly to Indian claims, such as deputy director of the Asia Program and senior associate for South Asia at the Wilson Center, Michael Kugelman, who said that Indian disinformation accounts were exploiting Pakistan’s current political crisis, some chose to give their peers a good laugh.

    Here are some of the memes that’ll make your day:

    https://twitter.com/iKarachiwala/status/1319013537826639873

    https://twitter.com/haris1khan/status/1318924695752802304
    https://twitter.com/ThisMyHandle/status/1318888540718178313

    https://twitter.com/umerbinajmal/status/1318987098066718725

    Have something to add to this story? Let The Current know in the comments…