KMC budget, light drizzle and Ahmed Parvez.

KARACHllTES felt cheerful on June 22, 1970 when they noticed the unbearable summery weather change its mood a wee bit. After a succession of hot scorching days, a brief speII of drizzle early in the morning made it quite pleasant for some time and increased people`s hopes for the monsoon rains though the Met department believed that the downpour was not forthcoming anytime soon.

The week, mind you, hadn`t started off on a pleasant note. The day before, June 21, a torchlight procession was taken out by the city students from the mazaar of Baba-i-Urdu Maulvi Abdul Haq in support ofthe Urdu language.Sponsored by the Muslim Students Federation (MSF), it was led by the federation`s president Syed Shahanshah Husain. They marched through Aram Bagh, Saddar and Burnes Road, and terminated at the Quaid+Azam`s mausoleum where the student leaders addressed a gathering, lamenting the delay in giving Urdu its due place because Englishwas still considered as `functional language`.

But it was an important week in terms of the city`s economy. On June 24, chairman of the Karachi Municipal Corporation (KMC) Abrar Hasan Khan at a special meeting presented a budget showing a deficit of Rs1.729 million for the financial year 1970-71. No new taxes were proposed.

The revenue receipts for the year had been estimated at Rs88.303m and expenditure at Rs90.032m showing a net deficit of Rs1.729m. Mr Khan pointed out that the emphasis was on provision and extension of certain basic requirements of the city such as opening of primary schools, the laying of the sewage disposal systems and improvement of the water distribution system. And three days later, on June 27, the KMC approved the budget after a good deal of...