After facing miserable traffic jams, broken roads, after effects of the rains, power failures,
worst law and order situation and never-ending constructions of flyovers and underpasses, Karachiites were expecting a relatively brighter and more affluent year 2007. Taking this into account, the City District Government Karachi (CDGK) initiated a very successful and much appreciated campaign ‘Hamara Karachi’ to celebrate the platinum jubilee of the old KMC Building on completing 75 years in January 2007.About 50 events were planned for the festival over a period of 13 days with the objective to improve the image of the city and dispel its image of a violence-prone city which foreign VIPs and visitors are reluctant to visit.Being one of its kind, the festival gained a lot of attention and much consideration by all segments of Karachi’s population. Here are the highlights of some eye catching and exciting events of the campaign.Platinum Jubilee of old KMC buildingA colourful display of fireworks was the most spectacular event held at the old KMC building. The Karachi Municipal Corporation (KMC) Building is one of the many historic buildings located at M. A. Jinnah road and has evolved an iconic status as one of the landmark structures of Karachi.Music – food for soulMelodious music provides inner satisfaction in the hustle and bustle of city life. ‘Hamara Karachi’ provided a chance to all music lovers to gather at concerts of their favourite singers and feel the magic of music. Concerts by Rahim Shah in Malir on January 8 and in Orangi Town on January 12, Najam Shiraz in Baldia Town on January 11 and Strings at Shah Faisal on January 13 gave opportunities to people of all age groups to see and listen to these rocking stars performing live in front of them.Food StreetApart from entertainment, food is another area that attracts the attention of Karachiites and thus all the streets having various eating outlets decided to turn them into Food Streets for a week. Food Street was a perfect excursion for families during the ‘Hamara Karachi’ festival as one could see both males and females sitting and eating till midnight in a friendly atmosphere.Karwaan-e-KarachiThe future of a country depends on its children and efforts should be made to give them better education and a peaceful environment to live. Karwaan-e-Karachi, a children festival, arranged at the KMC building on January 14 under the auspices of ‘Hamara Karachi’ was an effort in this regard to give an opportunity to the children of this city to learn as well as to enjoy the day.2nd Science Teaching seminarThe ‘2nd Science Teaching and Competition’ seminar was held at a local hotel in coordination with CDGK, Happy Home Secondary School and Concordia Forum of UK. Besides Karachi, the teachers of 45 schools of other cities had set up 45 stalls at the seminar, where practical demonstrations on various scientific subjects including Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Information Technology were carried out. While addressing the audience during the seminar, the City Naib Nazim, Nasreen Jalil stressed that instead of expensive hotels, educational seminars and workshops should be organised at places, which are accessible to financially underprivileged students.Colourful KarachiA painting competition during ‘Hamara Karachi’ campaign was also held among street children near Gizri Progressive School. The contest was sponsored by Majmua Art Gallery in which over 50 children participated. Of the total number of paintings, 50 were selected and displayed at Children Festival held on January 13 and 14 at KMC Building.Sports activitiesSports play a vital role in the development of a society. Keeping this in mind, a number of sports events such as cricket, badminton, tennis, boxing, donkey cart and cycle race were organised. Some indoor games for instance; carom, snooker and table tennis also took place on a smaller scale. Cricket is the most popular game in our country and Karachi is called the mini-nursery of cricket in entire Asia. Considering the cricket craze of Karachiites, a match between Showbiz Eleven and City Naib Nazim Eleven at National Stadium Karachi was organised. Both teams scored 350 runs. Speaking at the prize distribution ceremony, City Nazim Syed Mustafa Kamal said that the ‘Hamara Karachi’ festival is aimed to bridge the gap between different segments of Karachi society through interactive activities like sports.