The changing face of Quetta

Saleem Shahid

Quetta was once a city of orchards but now it has turned into a concrete jungle which is destroying its ecological character. It was a hill station and health resort for the privileged people who had the means to move to Quetta valley from Sibi-Kachhi plains or adjoining areas of Sindh and Dera Ghazi Khan during the hot summer days.

People from Afghanistan’s southern and western parts also used to come to this mountain-ringed city in search of jobs after independence in 1947. Before that, during the British colonial days, the authorities did not allow many Afghans to enter the city. Quetta was a beautiful city before the 1935 earthquake, which razed the entire city to the ground, claiming 35,000 lives.

Later on, it was rebuilt on the pattern of western cities with straight roads in the heart of the city, and trees lining the streets and roads of residential and commercial areas, and provision for proper civic services and amenities. There was a reliable drainage and sewerage system in the city; all open sewerage lines fell into the Habib Nullah, the huge outfall drain meant to discharge flood and rainwater downhill.

There were no overflowing gutters and sewage water polluting or inundating the streets in any part of the valley. Even during heavy snowfall or torrential rains, civic services were not disturbed and the storm water drain carried off the water without damaging property, orchards and farms. Surface water, fresh and fit for human consumption, used to flow along the sidewalks of the main roads. People fetched water from these flowing streams. However, municipal authorities ensured piped water supply to the residents, especially in the city centre.

The Governor House, the Chief Minister House, Balochistan Secretariat, General Post Office, Circuit House and other important offices and residences were located at the famous Thandi Sarak that was lined with huge teak and other beautiful trees. Till the mid-70s electric fans were not needed in Quetta due to its pleasant weather during the summer, while the Quetta stove was famous during winter.

The building code was strictly observed, particularly after the devastating earthquake of 1935. Only single storey buildings were constructed and double storey buildings were not allowed by the civil administration.

However, people living in the outskirts used traditional methods and remained part of the grand tribal society of Balochistan.

Quetta retained its basic characteristics of a British cantonment township till Balochistan was given provincial status and Quetta became the provincial capital.

After becoming the provincial capital people from all corners came here to settle in and around Quetta. Since successive governments had failed to provide civic services and facilities to remote parts of Balochistan, there was mass migration to Quetta putting unbearable burden on its civic services. During the Afghan civil war more than a million Afghan refugees settled here, suddenly swelling the population which played havoc with the civic services of the city.

Earlier, after the earthquake of 1935 Quetta was designed as a township for 50,000 to 80,000 people - contrary to this, now the city houses more than 2.5 million people. The city started expending after 1970 towards all the surrounding four mountains – Chiltan in the west, Takto to the north-west, Murdar in the east and Zarghoon in the north, without any proper planning. Only a few areas like Satellite Town, Shahbaz Town, Jinnah Town and Model Town were established with some planning. The people living in the outskirts of the town constructed mud and brick-walled houses. Unplanned and illegal towns established in the suburbs have no proper road network and a poor sanitation system.

The residential areas of Quetta have completely turned into a jungle of huge commercial plazas, hotels and multi-storyed shopping malls. Lack of monitoring of residential and commercial buildings has resulted in violation of the building code.

Commercial plazas constructed in the heart of the city lack parking facilities, which force the people to park their cars on the roads resulting in road blockades. Most of the buses and rickshaws emit smoke which causes air pollution. The situation worsened with the import of 15,000 rickshaws during 2007-8, putting an additional burden on the city’s roads and its environment .

CNG is indeed economical fuel but rickshaw drivers complain that CNG damages their vehicles’ engine, and they prefer to run their vehicles on petrol and diesel. Presence of thousands of other vehicles in the city is another burden. This city of a few thousand is now awash with thousands of legal and illegal smoke-emitting vehicles. Growing problem of air and noise pollution has damaged the beautiful environment of Quetta and increased the incidence of eye, lung and other diseases in the city.

In the name of widening the roads hundreds of trees were felled. Even the office of the Environmental Protection Agency, the kidney centre and some other offices were constructed after cutting down trees. The famous Thandi Sarak is no more - it is now called Zarghoon Road. Birds have migrated from Quetta to other other places after the cutting down of trees. Air population, brutal tree-felling, ill planned construction and other factors have changed the weather of Quetta, forcing the people to use all kinds of fans, air conditioners, refrigerators and others ways during the summer.

Gone are the days when Quetta used to be a cool hill station where people from across the country used to come and enjoy a cool summer, with a clean atmosphere.

Little is being done to improve the civic amenities and hygienic conditions in this provincial capital. All housing schemes established by the QDA and the QCB and other localities are facing drinking water shortage, sanitation and other basic problems. Once neat and clean Quetta has now turned into a dirty city. According to a report published by the UN, Quetta was declared the world’s second polluted city after Mexico City, which is really a shame.

 InpaperMagzine, Dawn