Source: Rediff Pakistan http://www.rediff.com.pk
YEARS of gross neglect and lack of maintenance have turned government servants’ quarters in various sectors of Islamabad into an eyesore of the federal capital on whose beautification the Capital Development Authority (CDA) is spending its billions. These residential areas have never presented such an untidy look as they do today, thanks to poor response of the civic body to the physical deterioration of the quarters despite allocations of millions of rupees under the head of maintenance account.Visitors to Islamabad can easily identify where the poor and the rich live in the federal capital. It gives a clear picture of the class-based divide of the city into rich and poor neighbourhoods. Overflowing gutters, littering, dark streets and shabby brick structures mark those sectors where majority of the poor live while green parks, glittering streets and elegant exteriors stand out in the posh areas. Those who make policies hail from the posh areas and want this condition to remain as it is. The baboos (clerks) have no voice and no say in the matter. Since they have no other shelter, they must accept their lot. Most of these quarters were built in the Sixties to accommodate the army of low-grade employees who had to shift to Islamabad from Karachi, the city Mohammad Ali Jinnah had chosen as Pakistan’s capital. The walls and rooftops of many residential quarters turn green in the rainy season with grass and small plants taking root in the cracks of the structure. As a result, the cracks keep widening every season unattended by the maintenance battalions of the CDA and PWD (Public Works Department). Seepage is a major problem in rainy season as water does not drain out from outlets blocked by overgrowth. Putting new cement roofs and renovation involving plastering of walls is the only solution but since all the money goes into maintaining the posh sectors, nothing is left for the residential quarters of the staff. Same is the case with doors and windows. There is no money to fix them. Residents paste layers of newspapers and plastic sheets on the broken doors and windows to save themselves from the cold wind. The quarters have not been whitewashed for more than a decade, which adds to the untidy look of the areas adding to the shabby look of a city that once prided itself as Islamabad the beautiful. Interestingly, the CDA inquiry offices that are supposed to attend to problems like these have become gossip centres where the staff daily gathers to discuss politics over tea. Complaints are recorded in a register, which is where the matter ends. You have to be well connected in CDA if your complaint is to be attended. There is no problem then whether of funds, materials or staff. It is no secret that dozens of applications of this nature were posted on the website of the inquiry office, which remain unattended despite repeated visits of complainants.CDA should carry out a survey of these quarters and attend to the deteriorating structures in the first instance. This action will not only reduce the financial cost of maintenance as it would be carried out at one time by giving contract to one party but it would also create a good image of the civic body among the residents of these quarters. Moreover, the government’s indecision in the matter of granting ownership rights to residents is also in the way of repair works as allottees live in the dream world of becoming millionaires overnight by building plazas on the prime land while CDA has its own plans once the slums disappear on their own through natural decay. The lifespan of these quarters has probably already expired and it is quite dangerous to be living there. The CDA should come up with a blue print to replace these quarters in phases with good-looking modern apartments suitable to the needs of a modern city.
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