The Case of the Donkey Carts of Karachi
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SustainabJe Architecture and Urban OeveJopment 395 Mapping an Alternative Network for a Mega City: The Case of the Donkey Carts of Karachi Mariam Zehra Karrar NED University ofEngineering and Techn%gy, Pakistan Abstract Karachi is the Jargest city of Pakistan with an estimated population of 16 million residents whose transport needs are dependent on 1,610,757 motorised vehicles (Urban Resource Center, 1990) and 25,099 animal drawn vehicles (Nawaz, Oiscussion on the Equines in Karachi, 2010). The vehic!es for transport inc1ude buses, trucks, trolleys, motor cycles, cyc1es, rickshaws, hand-drawn carts and animal-drawn carts. The roads of Karachi reflect of its variety of economic and socia! diversity (Hasan, 2002). Ouring the last decade, with the development projects under the vision of a 'mega city', the streetscape of Karachi is going through transformation. Through the recent construction of steep t1yovers and high-speed signal free corridors, the space for pedestrians and slow moving vehicles is being marginalised. In this changing scenario, this paper seeks to look into the relation of the animal drawn vehicles, with the rest of the transport activity and informal networks in the city. The donkey cart will be considered as a case study, since compared to the other animal counterparts like the horse, the mule and the camel, the donkey cart is the most commonly observed animal on the streets of Karachi. Based on surveys, interviews and literature review of govemment policies and officia! statistics, the paper aims to document, map and quantify the earlier, as weIl as, existing usage of the donkeys and donkey cart related activities in Karachi. In conclusion, the paper will deliberate over the need and possibility of this low tech, zero petrol consumption transportation system in the fast moving highways and flyovers in the mega city ofthe future. Keywords: Donkey earts, transport, informal economy, mega city, government poliey, 396 Mariam Zehra Karrar 1 Equines in Pakistan Pakistan has 4.9 million of the world's 90 million equines population (The Brooke, 2005) Just as half the world is dependent on animal power, in Pakistan too, figures show that along with 5,366,460 motorised vehicles there are 4,937,000 equines involved in the transport activity. This means that for every motorised vehicle there is an average of 0.9 equine working side by side in hau lage, commuting and transportation activities. (See figure I) The increase of equines over the last 4 decades has been estimated from 2.66 million in 1976 to 4.8 million in 2006. Out of the 4.8 million, the donkeys alone consist of 4.3 million. The rise in the number of donkeys is exponentially more compared to the other equine members, with an average increase of 0.6 million donkeys after every 10 years. (Govemment of Pakistan, 2010) 1.1 Equines in Karachi Karachi is a port city and the economic hub of Pakistan. Estimates show that for every 64 motorised vehicles there is one animal drawn vehicle. The ratio of equines in Karachi is as folIows: 20,361 donkeys, 3,246 horses and 1,492 mules (The Brooke, 2005). The donkey is a favoured choice amongst the equine family. lt is a robust, sturdy animal and has been able to survive through the process of motorisation, since I 940-'s, the changing morphology of the city from dense settlements to steep flyovers since 2000, and hot and humid weather conditions\ alongside traftk congestion and pollution. Keeping in mind the more than 8,000 km dense and intricate road network of Karachi, the equines work alongside pedestrians, hand push carts, cars, buses and heavy vehicles. (Urban Resource Center, 1990) The donkey carts are seen hauling building material like steel girders, cement blocks, ice blocks, garbage, laundry, selling fruits and vegetables and used in donkey cart races for entertainment. 1.2 Thc Economics of thc Donkey eart The donkey carts are thus an obvious part of the streetscape of Karachi. However, what needs to be considcred is the economic feasibility compared to the motorised counter-part 01' the donkcy cart. The motoriscd equivalent, the Suzuki pickup 800 cc also referred to as the Suzuki cart (or thella in popular culture). (See tigure 2) The biggest advantage of the Suzuki pickup against the donkey cart is the matter of speed and the resultant time factor. The average speed of a Suzuki pickup is 45 kilometres per hour compared to the average speed of the donkey cart which is 20 km per hour. This makes the motorised vehicle a better option in the sprawled city of Karachi spread out over a distance of 24 kilometres diagonally. Sustainable Architecture and Urban 397 Figure 1: Image taken at the weekly donkey market in Lyari, Karachi The other advantage of the Suzuki pickup over the animal drawn vehicle are the hydraulic brakes along with the compact length and width ofthe Suzuki, 4' 0" x 6'-0", compared to the average size of the donkey cart 4' 6" x 9'-0". Thus the ease of manoeuvring in the undulating and congested informal settlements and high speed roads and /lyovers makes the Suzuki a swift option for Karachi. ii Moreover, Suzuki has the capacity to carry as much as 2500 kilos , compared to the donkey cart that can carry and balance loads up to 1000 kg - 1500 kg on a /lat surface and 500 - 800 on an undulating surface. The extent of distances that donkeys cover easily in a day is up to 30 - 40 km. However, due to the openness of the cart, the donkey cart can carry and drag materials in lengthy proportions like steel girders, timber planks, or pipes. Apart from the advantages and disadvantages between the two modes of transport, most crucially, the deciding factor between the Suzuki pickup and the donkey cart becomes the cost of purchasing and upkeep of the two types of vehicles. The cost of the Suzuki starts at 5 hundred thousand rupees, while an average priced new donkey cart falls between 25,000 to 35,000 rupees. With the cost of petrol going up to 76 rupees per litre, the average consumption of the Suzuki is more than 9.5 rupees per kilometre. Meanwhile, the cost of taking care of the donkey is an average of 80 120 including food. maintenance of cart and in case medication (Sahab, 20 10). 398 Mariam Zehra Karrar Figure I Image taken at the Lyari riverbed, showing a donkey cart in the fore front and the Suzuki rear If we take out the cost of the fuel and animal fodder respectively, the take horne income of Suzuki owner, on a good day, he is able to make 700 rupees, while the donkey cart owners make 400 daily. However, when we calculate the cost of petrol and the wear and tear of the vehicIe associated with the average income ofthe donkey can owner at tim es exceeds that ofthe Suzuki owner. Even though we find that the Suzuki is a swift means of transporting goods from one point to another, nonetheless, we still see that the donkey carts are increasing in number annually (Government of Pakistan, 2010). The Karachi Master Plan 71-81 explains that in the context of Karachi and its related port activity the donkey carts is the appropriate technology that operates with reasonable per unit capacities that are more relevant to the transport needs of small merchants and industrialists. These modes of transport provide high volume of transponing goods at comparatively 'low capital investments' that result in reducing the cost of haulage compared to its mechanised counterpart (Karachi Development Authority, 1952). 1.3 The Significance of Donkeys in Karachi Similar to the rest of the country, the number of donkeys in Karachi is on the rise. According to Doctor Sher Nawaz of Brookes International (2010), the demand for the donkeys is directly related to the rise in poverty and lack ofjob opportunity in the city. Accordingly the donkey with the cart has become a reasonable and cost effective means of gaining income opportunity. It can be generally said that almost alt of the equine related eommunities belong to the low-income bracket Sustainable Architecture and Urban Development 399 (Nawaz, Discussion on the Equines in Karachi, 2010). Starting [rom the cost ofthe donkey, along with the ease and affordable upkeep, the donkey is a source of livelihood for thousands of households in Karachi (Karachi Development Authority, 1952). Last but not the least, the most important point that makes the donkey a feasible option for Karachi is that it does not require petro-fuels for consumption. This not only brings down the cost 01' keeping the vehiele, but also overall reduces the carbon footprint and noise pollution level in the city. 2 Thc History of thc Animal Drawn Vchiclcs in Karachi 2.1 From 1763 to 1843 Being a port destination there is evidence of presence of donkeys, camels, and mules as far back as 1763 under the invasion of the Talpurs from Sindh (see image 3). The old city and its market has always been the destination 01' the eamel caravans and the donkey earts from the interior 01' Sindh, the adjacent towns of Manghopir and Gaddani. At this time there was a common activity of carrying vegetables and fruits for sale the old town. A road called Rah-e-Bunder was built, during the Talpur era, to link Karachi port to Kafila Serai, a terminal for camel caravans, located at the southern boundary of the city. The present day location of the Kafila Serai is the Sindh Madarsa-tul Islam (Lea Market and its Enviorns, 1999).