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Agence France-Presse

Swarms of flies are descending on Pakistan’s commercial capital in what residents say are record numbers this rainy season, adding to the misery of Karachi’s monsoon “hell”.
Heavy rains have inundated the sprawling port city of nearly 20 million people for weeks, overwhelming shoddy drainage systems clogged with mountains of uncollected garbage and flooding neighbourhoods with raw sewage.

“I have never seen such a fierce presence of flies in my life,” said 45-year-old Karachi resident Abdul Aziz.
“Clouds of flies keep covering the food at the market. It’s repulsive – they cover the fruit so much that you can’t see beneath them.”
At a market in Surjani town, meat trader Zahid Ali looked on as flies engulfed the area.

“If the customers come, they impulsively leave after seeing the swarms of flies,” said Ali, adding that an increasing number of people working in the market had fallen ill.
Shershah Syed, a health rights activist and prominent surgeon in Karachi, said many illnesses were on the rise because of flies and mosquitoes.

“This time [the flies are] the worst ever as rain water is unable to drain and the garbage heaps are not dealt with,” Syed said.
“The number of children entering hospitals for diarrhoea or dysentery has jumped several fold this year. The number of children – who are the most vulnerable to the fly-borne diseases – has increased by about 10 times.”

While Karachi is responsible for 60 per cent of Pakistan’s economic output, the city has long endured creaky infrastructure, illegal construction and failing municipal services.
This week, the Economist Intelligence Unit ranked Karachi as one of the least liveable cities in the world along with the likes of war-torn Libya’s Tripoli and the crisis-hit Venezuelan capital Caracas.

“People in Karachi are numb to the idea of living with medical waste, overflowing gutters, broken down roads, and a complete lack of any kind of respectable public transport system,” wrote Saadat Ali Zia on Twitter.
“We live in hell,” tweeted Farooq Afridi.


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Pakistan

Floods of flies add to monsoon misery in Pakistan's Karachi

A butcher cuts up chicken as flies sit on the meat in a market in Karachi. Photo: AFP

In this picture taken on September 4, 2019 a family rides past a garbage dump at a residential area in Pakistan's port city of Karachi. - Swarms of flies, water-borne illnesses, and rivers of sewage have brought Pakistan's Karachi to its knees this rainy season as decades of mismanagement have turned the country’s commercial capital into a post-apocalyptic wasteland. (Photo by RIZWAN TABASSUM / AFP) / To go with 'PAKISTAN-HEALTH-WEATHER-FLIES,SCENE' by Ashraf KHAN

In this picture taken on September 2, 2019 a vendor looks on as flies swarm around him at a market in Karachi. - Swarms of flies, water-borne illnesses, and rivers of sewage have brought Pakistan's Karachi to its knees this rainy season as decades of mismanagement have turned the country’s commercial capital into a post-apocalyptic wasteland. (Photo by ASIF HASSAN / AFP) / To go with 'PAKISTAN-HEALTH-WEATHER-FLIES,SCENE' by Ashraf KHAN

In this picture taken on September 4, 2019 a municipal worker fumigates against flies and mosquitoes on a street in Karachi. - Swarms of flies, water-borne illnesses, and rivers of sewage have brought Pakistan's Karachi to its knees this rainy season as decades of mismanagement have turned the country’s commercial capital into a post-apocalyptic wasteland. (Photo by ASIF HASSAN / AFP) / To go with 'PAKISTAN-HEALTH-WEATHER-FLIES,SCENE' by Ashraf KHAN

In this picture taken on September 2, 2019 children cross a muddy street wet from drainage and rainwater in Karachi. - Swarms of flies, water-borne illnesses, and rivers of sewage have brought Pakistan's Karachi to its knees this rainy season as decades of mismanagement have turned the country’s commercial capital into a post-apocalyptic wasteland. (Photo by RIZWAN TABASSUM / AFP) / To go with 'PAKISTAN-HEALTH-WEATHER-FLIES,SCENE' by Ashraf KHAN

In this picture taken on September 2, 2019 a child eats grapes as flies swarm around her in a slum area in Karachi. - Swarms of flies, water-borne illnesses, and rivers of sewage have brought Pakistan's Karachi to its knees this rainy season as decades of mismanagement have turned the country’s commercial capital into a post-apocalyptic wasteland. (Photo by ASIF HASSAN / AFP) / To go with 'PAKISTAN-HEALTH-WEATHER-FLIES,SCENE' by Ashraf KHAN

Pakistan’s surprise hip-hop hub Karachi, where violent past has given way to underground rap culture

Rappers Mohammad Omar (right) and Wasim Masih perform in Lyari, one of Pakistan’s most dangerous neighbourhoods. Photo: AFP

In this picture taken on May 19, 2019, youths listen to songs on a smartphone in a narrow street in Lyari, one of Pakistan’s most dangerous neighbourhoods, in Karachi. - Haunted by gang violence and poverty for decades, Lyari is considered one of Pakistan's most dangerous areas, but its grim realities have inspired a generation of new artists and spawned a burgeoning hip hop scene. (Photo by RIZWAN TABASSUM / AFP) / To go with 'PAKISTAN-KARACHI-UNREST-MUSIC-LYARI,FEATURE' by David STOUT

In this picture taken on May 19, 2019, eight-year-old rapper Waqas Baloch (C) gestures as he performs in Lyari, one of Pakistan’s most dangerous neighbourhoods, in Karachi. - Haunted by gang violence and poverty for decades, Lyari is considered one of Pakistan's most dangerous areas, but its grim realities have inspired a generation of new artists and spawned a burgeoning hip hop scene. (Photo by RIZWAN TABASSUM / AFP) / To go with 'PAKISTAN-KARACHI-UNREST-MUSIC-LYARI,FEATURE' by David STOUT

In this picture taken on May 19, 2019, eight-year-old rapper Waqas Baloch (C) performs in Lyari, one of Pakistan’s most dangerous neighbourhoods, in Karachi. - Haunted by gang violence and poverty for decades, Lyari is considered one of Pakistan's most dangerous areas, but its grim realities have inspired a generation of new artists and spawned a burgeoning hip hop scene. (Photo by RIZWAN TABASSUM / AFP) / To go with 'PAKISTAN-KARACHI-UNREST-MUSIC-LYARI,FEATURE' by David STOUT

Pakistan’s ‘love affair with plastic’ has become toxic and has to end, environmental campaigners say

Municipal workers sort out recycling items in Islamabad. Photo: AFP

In this picture taken on July 16, 2019, municipal workers load garbage into a dump truck at a trash site full of plastic bags in Islamabad. - From the once pristine rivers of Hindu Kush to the slums of Islamabad, Pakistan is being smothered by plastic due to a lack of public awareness, government inertia, and poor waste management. (Photo by AAMIR QURESHI / AFP) / TO GO WITH Pakistan-environment-plastic,FEATURE by Joris Fioriti

In this picture taken on July 16, 2019, a municipal worker carries a bag of recycling items at a site in Islamabad. - From the once pristine rivers of Hindu Kush to the slums of Islamabad, Pakistan is being smothered by plastic due to a lack of public awareness, government inertia, and poor waste management. (Photo by AAMIR QURESHI / AFP) / TO GO WITH Pakistan-environment-plastic,FEATURE by Joris Fioriti

In this picture taken on July 31, 2019, men drive a three-wheeler loaded with used plastic bags in Lahore. - From the once pristine rivers of Hindu Kush to the slums of Islamabad, Pakistan is being smothered by plastic due to a lack of public awareness, government inertia, and poor waste management. (Photo by ARIF ALI / AFP) / TO GO WITH Pakistan-environment-plastic,FEATURE by Joris Fioriti

In Pakistan, rich city dwellers flaunt their wealth by keeping lions and other ‘exotic’ species as pets, status symbols

Bilal Mansoor Khawaja, a private zoo owner, sits with his white lion in Karachi. Photo: AFP

In this picture taken on May 20, 2019, a lion and lioness are pictured in a cage at a private zoo in Karachi. - Pakistani laws make it easy to import exotic animals, but once inside the country regulation is almost non-existent. (Photo by Rizwan TABASSUM / AFP) / TO GO WITH Pakistan-animals-wildlife, FEATURE by David STOUT

In this picture taken on May 21, 2019, Aleem Paracha, a private zoo owner, speaks during an interview with AFP in Karachi. - Pakistani laws make it easy to import exotic animals, but once inside the country regulation is almost non-existent. (Photo by Rizwan TABASSUM / AFP) / TO GO WITH Pakistan-animals-wildlife, FEATURE by David STOUT

In this picture taken on May 20, 2019, a lioness walks in a cage at a private zoo in Karachi. - Pakistani laws make it easy to import exotic animals, but once inside the country regulation is almost non-existent. (Photo by Rizwan TABASSUM / AFP) / TO GO WITH Pakistan-animals-wildlife, FEATURE by David STOUT

In this picture taken on May 20, 2019, Bilal Mansoor Khawaja (L), a private zoo owner, looks at his white lion in Karachi. - Pakistani laws make it easy to import exotic animals, but once inside the country regulation is almost non-existent. (Photo by Rizwan TABASSUM / AFP) / TO GO WITH Pakistan-animals-wildlife, FEATURE by David STOUT

Gunmen attack luxury hotel in Pakistan’s Gwadar port city, hub of a multibillion-dollar Chinese infrastructure project

The port city of Gwadar in Balochistan. Photo: Bloomberg

A man stands by Chinese trucks carrying first trade goods parked at the Gwadar port, some 700 kms west of Karachi on November 13, 2016. Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on November 13 opened a trade route linking the southwestern post of Gwadar to the Chinese city of Kashgar as part of a joint multi-billion-dollar project to jumpstart economic growth in the South Asian country. / AFP PHOTO / AAMIR QURESHI

Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif leaves the stage after speaking at a ceremony in Gwadar port, some 700 kms west of Karachi on November 13, 2016. Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on November 13 opened a trade route linking the southwestern post of Gwadar to the Chinese city of Kashgar as part of a joint multi-billion-dollar project to jumpstart economic growth in the South Asian country. / AFP PHOTO / AAMIR QURESHI

Pakistan attacks expose China’s Achilles’ heel on international stage

Burned out vehicles outside the Chinese consulate in Karachi following last month’s attack. Photo: AFP

A Pakistani security personnel walks next to a damage bus carrying Chinese engineers after a suicide attack in Dalbandin region, around 340 kilometres (211 miles) from Quetta, the capital of southwestern Balochistan province, on August 11, 2018. - A suicide attack on August 11 in Southwest Pakistan targeted a bus carrying Chinese engineers, wounding at least five people including two Chinese nationals, officials said. The attack came in Dalbandin region, around 340 kilometres (211 miles) from Quetta, the capital of southwestern Balochistan province, when the Chinese engineers working on a mineral project were being transported to the city. (Photo by Ali Raza / AFP)

(181121) -- MUANG MO, Nov. 21, 2018 (Xinhua) -- Members of Yunnan border police bureau line up as their patrol missions along the Mekong River starts in Guanlei, southwest China's Yunnan Province, Nov. 20, 2018. The 76th Mekong River joint patrol led by China, Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand started on Tuesday morning from Guanlei Port, Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture in southwest China's Yunnan Province. According to Yunnan border police bureau, the joint patrol will last five days and cover a range of over 500 kilometers to enhance anti-terrorism capability, safeguard the security and crack down on cross-border crimes. The patrol will include anti-terrorism drills, police skill practices and an anti-drug campaign. Since December 2011, the joint patrols have covered more than 39,500 kilometers, with 122 merchant ships rescued and 582.28 kilograms of drugs seized. The Mekong River, also known as the Lancang River in China, is a vital waterway for cross-border shipping among China,

FILE - In this Dec. 22, 2017 file photo, a Pakistani police officer stands guard at the site of Pakistan China Silk Road in Haripur, Pakistan. The assault on the Chinese consulate in Karachi, Friday, Nov. 13, 2018, was the latest in a series of attacks on China’s growing influence in Pakistan, where Beijing is financing tens of billions of dollars’ worth of megaprojects that critics fear will plunder the country’s resources and leave it with crippling debt. (AP Photo/Aqeel Ahmed, File)

News

Asia

South Asia


Heavy rains have inundated the sprawling port city of nearly 20 million people for weeks, overwhelming drainage systems and flooding homes
Now, clouds of flies and mosquitoes have descended – bringing with them a rise in illness and disease



Heavy rains have inundated the city of nearly 20 million people for weeks, overwhelming shoddy drainage systems clogged with mountains of uncollected garbage and flooding neighbourhoods with raw sewage.


Environment

Disease

Weather

Floods of flies add to monsoon misery in Pakistan's Karachi

Heavy rains have inundated the sprawling port city of nearly 20 million people for weeks, overwhelming drainage systems and flooding homes Now, clouds of flies and mosquitoes have descended – bringing with them a rise in illness and disease

Heavy rains have inundated the sprawling port city of nearly 20 million people for weeks, overwhelming drainage systems and flooding homes

Now, clouds of flies and mosquitoes have descended – bringing with them a rise in illness and disease