Pakistan, a country that is India’s neighbor houses one of the largest slums in the world. The Orangi town is located on the northwest side of Karachi, Pakistan, and was created due to the settlements that started to spring out during the 1970s in Karachi back when immigrants from India Bangladesh, and rural Pakistan entered the land to make space and create a living out of it. Spread over 3240 ha with and population of 2.4 million people and continues to grow to date. This was formerly quite unorganized due to the swarms of people migrating in this town creating a ton of confusion and chaos. Fighting for the tiny piece of land and space in the hope of securing a better life.
Establishment
The government of Pakistan played a pivotal role in this and sought to create a more organized pattern to allot homes. The residents were willing to pay a mere sum of 25000 rupees to build a home. However, they demanded the most basic right of every citizen which was sanitation thinking it would be granted by default. However, the rising costs of basic sanitary services were just one of the many obstacles the residents had to face on the way. The underground sewers for instance happened to dig a hole in the pocket of the residents that couldn’t be afforded at that stage. Anyhow by the end of 1991, 73% of Orangi’s 6347 lines had sewer lines and 75% of the 94122 houses had access to indoor sanitary latrines which was a win-win for the residents and the government as well. However, a lot of major parts of this residential town lack access to basic amenities and services.
Crises
The Orangi town has a population that has a positive graph while lacking the basic services needed. This has resulted in the outbreak of several diseases that have taken a toll on the health of the residents. While also lacking the right to education, poverty, and unemployment had resulted in a lot of gangs forming up and threatening the people. Other issues like water scarcity have further added to the pains of the people giving them a hard time.
- Gang Violence
When unemployment takes over a particular area, the rise of goons begins. Desperation has led people to fall to high extents to secure some money for their families and loved ones. This also leads to a lot of inner conflicts between different sectors that lead to the disruption of the harmony of the Orangi town. The socioeconomic standards have forced the residents to fall into these petty deeds and harass people around them. However, women are the most vulnerable to sexual harassment and other petty crimes due to them being the vulnerable target. A report shows that from 2011 to 2014, 77 percent of the women of the Orangi town were victims of rape due to no police moralizing and no strict actions being taken against the accused.
2. Overcrowding
A slum is an unorganized sector that is prone to overcrowding due to the various unplanned factors that play a role in this. The housing demand in this town is quite high, nearly requiring 3 times more houses than provided that has related to people taking over every square inch of the land. A lot of harmful diseases like cholera and dengue have taken over people’s health due to limited sanitation clubbed with a never-ending swarm of people. This has resulted in a lot of conflicts among people as well. The efforts from the government’s ends to meet the ends of the people still persist to date which is a slow yet effective change.
3. Water scarcity
The most basic requirement of a human being is the right to clean and safe drinking water. Without water, life cannot sustain, and becomes quite difficult when you don’t have this basic right. What is scary is the Orangi town facing water scarcity which has turned out to be a potential problem for the residents. The hub dam is a specific project that helps with the provision of water to the town however a limited source of water cannot be sustained for too long when it comes to an unlimited population. The government officials are however looking for different ways to help procure this water source to prevent further conflicts among the people for this precious resource. Around 40% of deaths in Pakistan have been due to poor water quality and continue to take the lives of many more. Other water sources have been tested for the town and found to be quite contaminated. However, the search for providing better access to the residents is still on by the government.
References:
- DownToEarth(1992)https://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=AwrKGHCv0OplnwQAjeq7HAx.;_ylu=Y29sbwNzZzMEcG9zAzcEdnRpZAMEc2VjA3Ny/RV=2/RE=1711097264/RO=10/RU=https%3a%2f%2fwww.downtoearth.org.in%2fcoverage%2ftransforming-a-karachi-slum-into-a-tidy-suburb-30393/RK=2/RS=FbJ0uenlasUbAChp4t5d6MwA17k-
- Borgen Project, https://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=AwrKGHB5z.plOQQAd5i7HAx.;_ylu=Y29sbwNzZzMEcG9zAzQEdnRpZAMEc2VjA3Ny/RV=2/RE=1711096953/RO=10/RU=https%3a%2f%2fborgenproject.org%2forangi-town-the-worlds-largest-slum%2f/RK=2/RS=Dw5gfcbh_VsaEPIKPLAdXopYdj4-
