KARACHI: Residents of Karachi’s upscale localities protested for the seventh consecutive day at the landmark Frere Hall against the non-availability of basic facilities after record breaking rains lashed the metropolis.
Protesters — including members of the civil society, activists, and celebrities — gathered in the gardens surrounding the historical structure to once again demand basic amenities and facilities be provided in the posh neighbourhoods of Defence Housing Authority (DHA) and Clifton.
Women and children were also part of the demonstrators, who lamented the unfavourable conditions persisting in the DHA for almost a week now, saying how raising voice for one’s rights as a citizen can be an offence.
“If you speak up for your rights, they would register FIR against you,” one of the protesters said, demanding the Cantonment Board Clifton (CBC) management immediately withdraw the case they had filed against the demonstrators.
Actors Feroze Khan, Fahad Mirza, Sarwat Gilani and Yasir Hussain, fashion designer Maheen Khan and PR mogul Frieha Altaf were among the celebrities who joined the protest.
The DHA and Clifton residents, whose protests against the authorities have had little or no effect, would now face a legal battle with the CBC, which earlier this week slapped them with a criminal case over a protest held to demand rainwater be drained.
Dozens of protesters booked
Some 35 individuals have been accused of vandalism, spreading fear, and using offensive language against government institutions during the protest on Monday, with the names of 22 mentioned in the FIR.
Rainwater remained accumulated in several phases of Karachi’s DHA, dealing severe damage to roads and posing a risk to commuters. Among the inundated and broken roads were Khayaban-e-Bukhari, Khayaban-e-Shujaat, Khayaban-e-Ittehad, and Khayaban-e-Nishaat, among others.
Monday’s protest eventually failed when talks with CBC fell through despite the citizens’ hours-long demonstration and chants.
The woman representing the protesters told the crowd gathered outside the CBC office that the officials had not agreed to signing the demands on the board’s letterhead. They did, however, manage to present their demands to the CBC office-bearers meeting inside.
The representative lamented that the concerned citizens had not been made part of the negotiations.
