Shikarpur: a deserted city

Aslam Pervaiz Abro
Shikarpur

June 26, 2009

Once a dignified commercial centre of past providing routs for transportation of Indian goods to Western India and Central Asia, Shikarpur carries a history of cultural heritage, hospitality, and civilization. The town was found by Bahadar Khan Daudpotras whose ancestral linage goes up to Abbasids in 1617 AD after Mughal Emperor, Aurangzeb Aalmghir had conferred upon him a vast jagir from Lakhi to Khanpur.

The city had earned fame throughout subcontinent on account of its aesthetic beauty, excellent administrative setup, academic institutions for high learning, well-endowed hospitals treating and accommodating patients from far flung areas, underground drainage system, brick-paved roads, delicious achhar, and famous but, extensive woodwork in houses having intricately carved timber façades. The fortification wall and eight gates had made the city impregnable of any hostile onslaught. Because of its perfume industry and the then modern buildings, the city was called Paris of the East.

Despite having such a rich and enviable history Shikarpur projects a view of no less than a misery-struck, backward and underdeveloped village in this modern age. The city has lost its past glory and has only the old history to boast about. Burgeoning rural-urban migration, mismanagement and maladministration, poorer attention of government, rampant crime, law and order situation and specially the tribal clashes are the factors leading to the current sorry state of affairs of the district. Owing to virtually no basic amenities of life in the adjoining villages, the tribal clashes that have swallowed thousands of lives of innocent people, and the atrocities of local Wadderas, the villagers are forced to leave the villages and settle in the suburbs of the city. They build the houses without proper planning in line with the residential structure in the city and resultantly a lot of mess is created.

The tribal clashes have broken the backbone of economic and social structure of the entire district. The antagonism, especially between two major castes/tribes Mahar and Jatoi that started in early 90s has yet been irreconcilable despite several Jargas, some under the auspices of government. These clashes have triggered the law and order situation and an open display of arms in the name of self-protection by the people of the respective tribes. Some people argue that these clashes actually serve the interest of the chieftains of these tribes. Whoever the beneficiary may be, the ultimate sufferers are the innocent people who have so far lost their lives and their near and dear ones in these clashes.

Today, life and limb of a common man is not secure. A journalist of a Sindhi news paper who raised the voice of truth and right was gunned down in 2003 and his killers are still at large. Looting and kidnapping for ransom has been a routine. The risk of being looted or kidnapped is very high, especially at night on Shikarpur-Sukkur and Shikarpur-Larkana roads. Even the judges have not been spared. Recently, the security was beefed up by the Rangers that provided auxiliary patrolling force to the police, thus crime ratio spiraled down to certain extent since current DPO Khadim Hussain Rind took over the charge.

Corruption, misappropriation and embezzlement of government funds on several annual and other development programs have consigned the city to wrenched condition. The annual budget of the district for the year 2008-09 was Rs.2395.867 million. The fate of the city would have been different if the budget had been spared of embezzlement and utilized properly. The tenders for construction of the roads and other development projects are awarded by the concerned EDOs to their favorite contractors or to those who have an ability to bribe the stakeholders. Resultantly the roads constructed with substandard material erode with no time precipitating more troubles for the local population. These dilapidated roads have been constructed so many times with inferior material that the layers upon layers of gravels and pebbles have raised the roads several feet above actual land level pushing down the houses and other historical monuments.

The city has turned into ruins and does not look to be a district from any aspect.
The basic responsibility of putting the things in order is of District Nazim and the bureaucrats but they seem to have no concern for the city and turn a blind eye to the massive corruption. The horse and cattle shows organized by Nazim do not serve the city as much investment of efforts on other important issue directing affecting the common man. More reprehensibly, the educated and literate section of the city does not raise their voice vociferously against this blatant injustice. In fact, it is the feudalistic-psyche that the inhabitants of the city are obsessed with; in the case of stakeholders “plunder the city and loot its wealth”, and for citizens “shut your mouth and closes your eyes to avoid the brunt of Bhotaar”. But this should no longer be the attitude. Whereas the local government system introduced by military dictator in 2001 may have served or damaged the country in general and Sindh in particular since most of the Nazims are either relatives or cronies of the politicians of national level, it has very badly affected Shikarpur as is evident from its pathetic state.

At the moment a mega project named Rehabilitation and Improvement of Urban Drainage Scheme (RIUDS) is underway in the city. The project was started in 2007 and the estimated cost of the entire project is Rs.382.978 millions. The pace of the construction work is as slow and tortoise. The tender of this project was awarded to the local contractors that do not have any profile of doing any mega project. Today, around two years have passed, not a 20% of the project has yet been completed. The land has been dug up and heaps of sewage and mud are spreading all round the city and contractors have no idea how to manage the things properly.

Almost every street is inundated with drain-water and stinking with sewerage-waste that threaten to germinate fatal epidemics. Once I happened to travel with the District Nazim’s brother (who is also PML-Q MPA in Sindh Assembly) in the same flight and had a chance to get to know his views on RIUDS. He said, “initially it was planned to award the tender of the RIUDS to some reputable construction company from Karachi. But due to the insistence of two former PML-Q MPAs of Sindh Assembly , who are our allies in district government, the tender of the project was awarded the to local contractors.” It is deplorable that a larger interest was compromised on the altar of saving political nexus and pleasure of allies. At the moment the city is in shambles while corruption, maladministration and lawlessness run high. I request the government to control these demons and take corrective measures to save the city from further disaster.

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