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A group of activists here have opted for a rather
unorthodox way of drawing the attention of authorities towards civil
issues that hinder the everyday life of Karachiites.
As part of the Ideas are Bulletproof campaign, Karachi citizens have
spray-painted the portrait of Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah on
major roads of the metropolis, which invoke the ire of thousands
everyday due to their derelict condition.
With the chief minister's face drawn next to gaping potholes, ditches
and heaps of piles on the side of Karachi's much-travelled University
Road, the aim is to attract the authorities attention towards the issues
that affect the common man in the city, says Alamgir Khan, who leads the
campaign.
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"The project is a well-organised, well-managed campaign that is being
run by teams comprising normal citizens," he says. "[However,] this is
only the beginning."
Mocking the chief minister through graffiti next to a pothole reading
"Fix it! Sleeping beauty", the campaign intends to beckon the Sindh
frontman to the hardships faced by Karachiites "on the other side of the
bridge", Alamgir says, with a reference to people living in areas others
than the Defence Housing Authority or Clifton.
Alamgir says the campaign is aimed at Sindh leaders "who have no idea"
about problems faced by residents of Karachi as the politicians
themselves reside in "elite areas where community problems are rare".
"I want to ask the Sindh chief minister: where have the Rs700 billion
worth of funds pledged for Karachi gone?" he questions.
The campaign is not focused only on roads and garbage, however.
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"This campaign will focus on everything that is a predicament for an
average Karachiite ... be it transport issues, street crime, police
bribes or legal hurdles," says Alamgir.
Alamgir, who holds a senior position in the opposition party Pakistan
Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), insists that the campaign is purely apolitical.
No flags or slogans linked to PTI have been used or displayed in the
campaign so far, he says.
The campaign is in no way a method of political point scoring, the PTI
leader claims, adding that he invites "people belonging to any political
party to join the cause."
In yet another jibe at the Sindh CM, the text next to his portrait reads
"Eat as poor children do!", with arrows pointing to a pile of garbage,
in a reference to Karachi's street children who are seen picking food
from the waste.
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When asked what representatives of his party, the PTI, have done to
better people's lives in the four Karachi constituencies where they have
been elected, Alamgir says if anyone from those constituencies comes up
to him with complaints, he will "join them in the protest against the
PTI leadership of the area." He has not received any such complaints so
far, Alamgir said.
Alamgir says he does not consider drawing someone's face on the road, or
near piles of garbage unethical as "this is an innovative way of drawing
the chief minister's attention, and is not being done out of disrespect
to the chief minister."
"I am personally against the idea of wall chalking," he maintains. |
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