THESE days, Shaheed-i-Millat Road is one of the busiest thoroughfares in the city. When was it constructed? On July 15, 1974 this newspaper published a report according to which the day before (July 14) the Governor of Sindh, Begum Ra`ana Liaquat Ali Khan inaugurated Shaheedi-Millat Road at a simple ceremony and expressed her satisfaction at the development work undertaken in Karachi by civic bodies. She was happy to note that the provincial government and the Karachi Municipal Corporation (KMC) were giving `thought and priority` to the urgent needs of the people. She was also thankful for naming the road after her husband, the first Prime Minister of Pakistan, Liaquat Ali Khan who `lived and died in the cause of his beloved people`. She prayed that the truth, unity and solidarity of Pakistan for which the prime minister gave his blood truly become a way of life for us`.

But things were not that simple when it came to the Sindh capital`s infrastructural progress. On July 16, the Tehreek-i-Shehri Hukoomat Karachi demanded that the criteria of budget provisions for development of the city should be in direct proportion to either collection of taxes from Karachi or on the basis of population. Discussing various aspects of provincial and KMC budgets with the media, the convener of the tehreek, Mirza Jawed Baig, pointed out that in 1973-74, 73.6 percent of the general revenue receipts were raised from Karachi while the provision for development of the city in the Sindh budget (1974-75) was negligible.

As has often been mentioned, the political brouhaha in Karachi seldom affected its cultural goings-on. On July 17, distinguished folk singer Mai Bhagi from Tharparkar district gave an enchanting performance at the Sindh Centre. The half-an-hour show included seven popular tunes in Sindhi, Dharki, Gujarati and Thari languages which she rendered in her inimitable style. The programme earned applause from a modest but discerning audience.

A commentator remarked, `Age does not seem tomean anything to the strong and sweet voice of Mai Bhagi.

The next day, the VC of Sindh University, Dr Nabi Bux Baloch, said he had faith and confidence in the future of Pakistani society and the nation`s ability to withstand the challenges of the times. Speaking at a meeting focusing on Pakistani culture at a local hotel he covered different areas of the subject emphasising that the variety in our culture was the secret of our unity. He added if the USA, the USSR and Switzerland could emerge as strong nations despite linguistic and other disparities in their societies then there was no reason why similar results could not be achieved in our conditions.

Carrying on with the theme of healthy and entertainment-related pursuits, on July 20 a five-member US university theatre troupe arrived in Karachi on the last leg of its three-week visit to Pakistan. Led by Tom Evans, Director of Theatre at Hanover College, Indiana, the group in their six-day stay in the Sindh capital was to hold workshops to acquaint local talent with the technical aspects of American theatre as well as to perform excerpts from American social dramas.