THE past few weeks have been eventful for Karachi residents. The August rains plunged the city into total paralysis. Stranded vehicles on major roads and lanes in neighbourhoods established the unpreparedness of the metropolis to cope with bouts of even moderate rainfall. Road deaths due to avoidable accidents continue. Some of these tragedies are caused by recklessly driven heavy vehicles, while poorly driven motorcycles have led to similar outcomes. We also saw a building collapse in Lyari. Meanwhile, with the tacit support of the provincial regime, our talented mayor has constantly been spewing vitriol against his opponents in a bid to retain media attention. Confusion surrounds the present state of affairs and there is no clear direction.

There are at least seven myths regarding Karachi’s affairs. One, it is believed that the mayor calls the shots in managing urban affairs, when the truth is that the mayor and KMC only deal with peripheral city matters, given the reduced status of the municipality under the prevailing Sindh Local Government Act. Under the ruling clique at the helm, the mayor is a mere figurehead for media consumption. He wields less power than his predecessor did; the latter could at least........

© Dawn