Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Karachi

Government

Karachi Municipal Corporation office buildingMain articles: City District Government of Karachi, List of mayors of Karachi, and List of Union Councils of Karachi
The City of Karachi Municipal Act was promulgated in 1933. Initially the Municipal Corporation comprised the mayor, the deputy mayor and 57 councillors. The Karachi Municipal Corporation was changed to a Metropolitan Corporation in 1976. The administrative area of Karachi was a second-level subdivision known as Karachi Division, which was subdivided into five districts: Karachi Central, Karachi East, Karachi South, Karachi West and Malir. In 2000, the national government implemented a new devolution plan which abolished the second-tier divisions and merged the five districts of Karachi into a new City District, structured as a three-tiered federation, with the two lower tiers composed of 18 towns and 178 union councils (UC).(26)

1.Lyari Town
2.Saddar Town
3.Jamshed Town
4.Gadap Town
5.SITE Town
6.Kemari Town
7.Shah Faisal Town
8.Korangi Town
9.Landhi Town
10.Bin Qasim Town
11.Malir Town
12.Gulshan Town
13.Liaquatabad Town
14.North Nazimabad Town
15.Gulberg Town
16.New Karachi Town
17.Orangi Town
18.Baldia Town
19.A. Karachi Cantonment
20.B. Clifton Cantonment
21.C. Korangi Creek Cantonment
22.D. Faisal Cantonment
23.E. Malir Cantonment
24.F. Manora Cantonment


The towns are governed by elected municipal administrations responsible for infrastructure and spatial planning, development facilitation, and municipal services (water, sanitation, solid waste, repairing roads, parks, street lights, and traffic engineering), with some functions being retained by the City-District Government (CDG).(26) The third-tier 178 union councils are each composed of thirteen directly elected members including a Nazim (mayor) and a Naib Nazim (deputy mayor). The UC Nazim heads the union administration and is responsible for facilitating the CDG to plan and execute municipal services, as well as for informing higher authorities about public concerns and complaints.

In the elections of 2005, Mustafa Kamal was elected City Nazim of Karachi to succeed Naimatullah Khan, and Nasreen Jalil was elected as the City Naib Nazim. Mustafa Kamal was previously the provincial minister for information technology in Sindh. Mustafa Kamal is advancing the development trail and has been actively involved in maintaining care of the city's municipal systems.(27). There are also six military cantonments administered by the Pakistan Army which do not form part of the City of Karachi. These cantonment have a very little population but covers a very large area (about 40% of the total area of Karachi) & most expensive land of Karachi.


Culture
Main article: Culture of Karachi

The Mohatta Palace
National Museum of PakistanKarachi is home to some of Pakistan's important cultural institutions. The National Academy of Performing Arts,(28) located in the newly renovated Hindu Gymkhana offers a two year diploma course in performing arts that include classical music and contemporary theatre. The All Pakistan Music Conference, linked to the 45-year old similar institution in Lahore, has been holding its Annual Music Festival since its inception in 2004. The Festival is now a well-established feature of the city life of Karachi that is attended by more than 3000 citizens of Karachi as well as people from other cities.(29)

The National Arts Council (Koocha-e-Saqafat) also has musical performances and Mushaira (poetry recitations).

The Kara Film Festival organized annually showcases independent Pakistani and international films and documentaries.

Karachi has many museums including the Mohatta Palace Museum that regularly has exhibitions as well as the National Museum of Pakistan. Karachi Expo Centre hosts many regional and international exhibitions.

The everyday lifestyle of Karachi differs substantially from that of other Pakistani towns. The culture of Karachi is characterized by the blending of Middle Eastern, Central Asian, South Asian and Western influences, as well as the status of the city as a major international business centre. Karachi also hosts the largest middle class stratum of the country.(citation needed)


Education

National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences main building, Karachi CampusMain article: Education in Karachi
The education in Karachi is divided into five levels: primary (grades one through five); middle (grades six through eight); high (grades nine and ten, leading to the Secondary School Certificate); intermediate (grades eleven and twelve, leading to a Higher Secondary School Certificate); and university programs leading to graduate and advanced degrees.

Pakistan has both public and private educational institutions from primary to university level. Most educational institutions are gender based from primary to university level.

The Narayan Jagannath High School at Karachi was the first government school established in Sindh. It was opened in October 1855. Karachi has well known educational institutes of international standards. Most universities of Karachi are considered to be amongst the premier educational institutions of Pakistan. For 2004-05, the city's literacy rate was estimated at 65.26%, Highest in Pakistan with a GER of 111%(30).

The University of Karachi, simply referred as KU, is the largest university in Pakistan having one of the largest faculities in the world. Coincidentally it is located beside the NED University, the oldest engineering institute of Pakistan. Karachi is also host to the Institute of Business Administration (IBA), founded in 1955 is the oldest business school outside North America, Alumni of IBA include former Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz. Pakistan Navy Engineering College (PNEC) a part of NUST (National University of Sciences and Technology), having the best Electrical Engineering and second best Mechanical Engineering program of Pakistan (Pakistan Engineering Council ranking), is also located in Karachi. Karachi is also home of Head Office of Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan, which is the most prestigious institute of country producing Chartered Accountants who are leading the corporate sector of the country. The Institute was established in 1961 and has since produced over 5,000 members. Leading medical schools of Pakistan like Agha Khan University and Dow University of health Sciences have their campuses in Karachi.


Sports

Karachi Gymkhana Ground, overlooking downtown KarachiMain article: List of sports venues in Karachi
Cricket is the most popular sport of the city, and is usually played in many small grounds around the city. Gully cricket, is played in the narrow by-lanes of the city. Night time cricket can be seen at weekends when people play brightly lit night matches on less traversed city streets. The major venue for cricket matches is the National Stadium but matches are also hosted at the UBL Sports Complex, The A.O. Cricket Stadium, the KCCA Cricket Ground, the Karachi Gymkhana Field and the DHA Cricket Stadium.

A popular local game is Malh (Sindhi: ملهه). All Sindh Malh ُOrganization hosts All Sindh Malakhirro every year in Karachi.(citation needed)

Other popular sports in the city are hockey, boxing, association football, golf, table tennis, snooker, squash, and horse racing. Sports like badminton, volleyball and basketball are also popular in schools and colleges.

Football is especially popular in Lyari Town which has always been a football-mad locality in Karachi. The Peoples Football Stadium is perhaps the largest football stadium in Pakistan with respect to capacity, easily accommodating around 40,000 people. In 2005, the city hosted the SAFF Cup Football Tournament at this ground, as well as the Geo Super Football League 2007 which attracted capacity crowds during the games.

The city also has facilities for hockey (the Hockey Stadium of Pakistan, UBL Hockey Ground), boxing (KPT Sports Complex), squash (Jehangir Khan Squash Complex) and polo. Marinas and Boating Clubs also add to the diverse sporting activities in Karachi.

Karachi has a number of sporting clubs that provide sporting facilities to their members, including tennis, badminton and squash courts, swimming pools, jogging tracks, gymnasiums, billiards and much more. There are two world class golf clubs, at DHA and Karsaz.(citation needed)


Transport
Main article: Transport in Karachi

Jinnah International AirportThe Jinnah International Airport is located in Karachi. It is the largest and busiest airport of Pakistan. It handles 10 million passengers a year. The airport also receives the largest number of foreign airlines, a total of 35 airlines and cargo operators fly to Jinnah International predominantly from the Middle East and southeast Asia. All of Pakistan's airlines use Karachi as their primary hub including PIA - Pakistan International Airlines, Airblue, and Shaheen Air.

The city's old airport terminals are now used for Hajj flights, commercial offices, cargo facilities, and ceremonial visits from heads of state. US Coalition forces used the old terminals for their logistic supply operations as well. The city also has two other airstrips used primarily by the armed forces.

The largest shipping ports in Pakistan are the Port of Karachi and the nearby Port Qasim. These seaports have modern facilities and not only handle trade for Pakistan, but also serve as ports for Afghanistan and the land-locked Central Asian countries. Plans have been announced for new passenger facilities at the Port of Karachi.(31)

Karachi is linked by rail to the rest of the country by Pakistan Railways. The Karachi City Station and Karachi Cantonment Station are the city's two major railway stations. The railway system handles a large amount of freight to and from the Karachi port apart from providing passenger services to people travelling up country. Plans are underway to extend the intra-city railway system to play a part in the city's mass transit through Karachi Circular Railway system. Currently, primarily motorists and minibuses handle commuter traffic, but there are plans to construct a light-rail based mass transit system in the city to decongest the roads and provide quick service to commuters. Feasibility studies have been carried out and a provisional network has been agreed on. The unofficial working title for the proposed mass transit system is "Duz" (Urdu ), a contraction of the Urdu for "Underground Railway" (Urdu گاری).


Challenges of rapid expansion

A part of Karachi's financial districtAs one of the most rapidly growing cities in the world, Karachi faces challenges that are central to many developing metropolises including traffic, pollution, poverty and street crimes. These problems continue to earn Karachi low rankings in livability comparisons: The Economist ranked Karachi fourth least livable city amongst the 132 cities surveyed(32) and Business Week ranked it 175 out of 215 in livability in 2007, down from 170 in 2006.(33)

The traffic and pollution is a major challenge for Karachi. The level of air pollution in Karachi is estimated to be 20 times higher than World Health Organization standards.(citation needed) A number of new parks have been developed and new trees are being planted in the city to improve the environment and reduce the pollution.

In April 2008, the City District Government built a Control Unit(CU) which accommodates the worlds largest data center. With the help of this unit, every road in Karachi is monitored through a high resolution camera, which captures the number plate and the face of driver within a second and sends it to the CU. These cameras are fixed 100 ft above the ground. An additional security camera is also placed above the camera to ensure security. These security cameras are 300 ft above the ground.(citation needed)

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