Orangi Town
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Orangi | |
| — Town — | |
| Country | Pakistan |
|---|---|
| Province | Sindh |
| City District | Karachi |
| Established | 14th August 2001 |
| Union Councils | 13 |
| Government | |
| - Type | Town Council |
| - Town Nazim | Abdul Haq |
| - Naib Nazim | Shahid Bashir |
| - Municipal Officer | Qamaruddin Shaikh |
| Area | |
| - Total | 57 km2 (22 sq mi) |
| Population (1998) | |
| - Total | 723,694 |
| Website | Orangi Town Page |
Orangi Town (Bihari/Urdu: اورنگی ٹاؤن) is a small densely populated town in the northwestern part of Karachi (Pakistan), It is bordered by New Karachi Town to the north across the Shahrah-e-Zahid Hussain, Gulberg Town to the east across the Gujjar Nala stream, Liaquatabad Town to the south, and SITE Town to the west.
The population of Orangi Town was estimated to be more than 720,000 at the 1998 census. It could be the largest slum in Asia, possibly surpassing Mumbai's Dharavi in terms of population, but not in population density.
Orangi is overwhelmingly comprising Bihari inhabitants whose ancestors mainly hailed from Bihar region of India. However, there are several other ethnic groups including Pakhtuns, Sindhis, Balochs, Bengalis, Punjabis, Seraikis, and other Muhajirs of different backgrounds.
Contents |
History
The area started populating from 1965 onwards as a residential extension to the Sindh Industrial Trading Estates (SITE). Orangi became famous in the 1980s when local inhabitants became frustrated at the lack of development in the area by the municipal administration and launched the Orangi Pilot Project under the guidance of Dr Akhtar Hameed Khan. The Orangi area was the largest squatter settlement in Karachi at the time, so the city corporation did not extend services to the Orangi community.[1] The first action of the project was to demand that the city corporation should install a sewerage system free of charge but this was refused because the government did not recognise Orangi. The population mostly comprises Blue-collar workers and had a substantial illegal refugee community.
In response to this, the local community designed their own low-cost sewerage system, financed and constructed entirely by the local community. The government refused to allow the sewer system to be connected to the existing city sewers because of Orangi's unauthorised status. However, the government was forced to cooperate when the project attracted worldwide attention and similar projects were set up in three squatter settlements in the city of Sukkur in northern Sindh.
The federal government introduced local government reforms in the year 2000, which eliminated the previous third tier of government (administrative divisions) and raised the fourth tier (districts) to become the new third tier. The effect in Karachi was the dissolution of the former Karachi Division and the merger of its five districts to form a new Karachi City-District with eighteen autonomous constituent towns including Orangi Town; a move which helped to better administer the area.
Development
The City District Government has initiated the Shahrah-e-Orangi project to rehabilitate the dilapidated road that connects the town with other parts of the city. In addition, the K-III water supply project will supply potable water to Orangi residents.
Orangi stretches out from the Qasba Hill, North Nazimabad and Paposh Nagar towards the northern parts of Karachi. Public buses and coaches run from Banaras through 5 numbered chowks towards the Orangi Sectors 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 till Gulshan-e-Bihar (Orangi Sector 16). There are markets in Sectors 8, 11 1/2 and 14 (Disco Chowk).
Orangi Town is also home to the famous "Arsad Bau" bihari babu.
Neighbourhoods of Orangi Town
Orangi Pilot Project
Orangi poverty alleviation project (Orangi Pilot Project, OPP) was initiated by Dr Akhtar Hameed Khan in 1980. The project was aimed at socio-economic development of the population of the vast Orangi area of Karachi.[2] As the project director Dr Khan proved to be its dynamic and innovative leader.[3] The project comprises a number of programs, including a people's financed and managed Low-Cost Sanitation Program;[4] a Housing Program; a Basic Health and Family Planning Program; a Program of Supervised Credit for Small Family Enterprise Units; an education Program; and a Rural development Program in the nearby villages.[5]
Notes
- ^ Hasan, Arif (1999) Akhtar Hameed Khan and the Orangi Pilot Project. City Press, Karachi. ISBN 9698380205
- ^ Axinn, George H (1997) Book Review. Agriculture and Human Values, Vol. 14, No. 2, (June). ISSN 0889-048X p. 193
- ^ Nigam, Ashok and Rasheed, Sadig (1998) Financing of Fresh Water for All: A Rights Based Approach, UNICEF Staff Working Papers. Evaluation, Policy and Planning Series, No. EPP-EVL-98-003
- ^ Khan, Akhtar Hameed (1997) The sanitation gap: Development's deadly menace. The Progress of Nations. UNICEF
- ^ Khan (1996)
See also
External links
- Karachi Website
- The Orangi Welfare Project (Trust), a model for sustainable grassroots development
- http://www.dil.org/DIL/html/p_orangi.htm
References
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