Orangi Town
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| Orangi Town | |
| Population (1998) | 723,694 |
| Town Nazim (Mayor) | Abdul Haq |
| Naib Nazim | Shahid Bashir |
| Municipal Officer | Qamaruddin Shaikh |
| Union Councils | 13 |
| Website | Official website |
Orangi Town is a small densely populated town in the northwestern part of Karachi, bordered by New Karachi Town to the north across the Shahrah-e-Zahid Hussain, Gulberg Town to the east across the Gujar 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. Orangi is overwhelmingly comprising Urdu speaking habitants whose ancestors mainly hailed from Bihar. However, there are several other ethnic groups including Pakhtuns, Sindhis, Balochs, Begnalis, Punjabis and Seraikis.
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[edit] History
Orangi is a Sanskrit word, which means "high", "peak" or "acme". Established in early 1970s, Orangi became famous in the 1980's 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. The first action of the project was to demand that the city corporation should install a sewerage sysytem free of charge but this was refused because the government did not recognise Orangi. The population mostly comprises Blue-collar workers.
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 it's five districts to form a new Karachi City-District with eighteen autonomous constituent towns including Orangi Town.
[edit] 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).
[edit] Neighbourhoods of Orangi Town
[edit] Orangi Pilot Project
Dr. Akhtar Hameed Khan, Founder of Orangi Pilot Project
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Karachi Website
- Orangi Town
- The Orangi Welfare Project (Trust), a model for sustainable grassroots development
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|---|---|---|
| Baldia Town | Bin Qasim Town | Gadap Town | Gulberg Town | Gulshan Town | Jamshed Town | Kiamari Town | Korangi Town | Landhi Town | ||
| Liaquatabad Town | Lyari Town | Malir Town | New Karachi Town | North Nazimabad Town | Orangi Town | Saddar Town | Shah Faisal Town | SITE Town | ||
