Orangi
—  Town  —
Union councils of Orangi Town
Country	Pakistan
Province	Sindh
City District	Karachi
Established	14th August 2001
Union Councils	13 Baloch Goth Bilal Colony Chisti Nagar Data Nagar Ghabool Town Ghaziabad Hanifabad Haryana Colony Iqbal Baloch Colony Madina Colony Mohammad Nagar Mominabad Mujahidabad
Government
• Type	Town Council
• Former Town Nazim	Abdul Haq
• Former Naib Nazim	Shahid Bashir
• Municipal Officer	Qamaruddin Shaikh
Area
• Total	60 km2 (22 sq mi)
Population (2010)
• Total	1,540,420
Office Location	Municipal Head Office Orangi Town No. 12, Karachi.
E-mail	orangi@karachicity.gov.pk
Contact	(021)36697869-36650833
Website	Orangi Town Page

Orangi Town (Urdu: اُورنگی ٹاؤن) is a town in the northwestern part of Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. It is bordered by New Karachi Town to the north across the Shahrah-e-Zahid Hussain, Gulberg Town to the east across the Gujjar Nala stream, Liaquatabad Town to the south, and SITE Town to the west. The township is currently the largest slum in South Asia, after surpassing the size of Dharavi in Mumbai, India, although while Orangi is approximately 22 square miles (57 km²) in area, Dharavi is less than one square mile. ^[1], making Orangi far less dense.^[2][3] Further, Orangi comprises several new developed middle class areas and housing-societies which are still considered slums for statistical purposes^{[citation needed]} because they lack the basic facilities that are provided to most homes, although strictly speaking, they are not slums.

Demography [link]

There are several ethnic groups in Orangi Town including Muhajirs, Punjabis, Sindhis, Kashmiris, Seraikis, Pakhtuns, Balochis, Memons, Bohras, Ismailis, etc. A significant population of these Muhajirs are Biharis who migrated from Bihar in 1947 and East Pakistan in 1971.^[4][5]

Over 99% of the population is Muslim and 75% of the population is Muhajir, However local muslims are slowly being forced into these townships and cliams are made to save face by the Pakistani govrnement. Orangi town has a population of approximately 2.5 million although government records report that it had 700,000 inhabitants.^[5] In last 15 years the Orangi Town's demography has substantially changed as Pakhtun fleeing the Taliban conflict in northern Pakistan have settled in this town in large numbers.^{[citation needed]}

History [link]

The population began to grow from 1965 onwards as a residential extension to the Sindh Industrial and Trading Estate (SITE).^{[citation needed]} Orangi became famous in the 1980s 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 Akhtar Hameed Khan.^{[citation needed]} The Orangi area was the largest squatter settlement in Karachi at the time, so the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) did not extend services to the Orangi community.^[6] The first action of the project was to demand that the KMC should install a sewerage system free of charge but this was refused because KMC did not recognise Orangi. The population mostly comprises blue-collar worker (factory workers) including a substantial Rohingya Muslim refugee community mainly from Burma.

The local community financed, designed and built their own low-cost sewerage system.^{[citation needed]} The Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) refused to allow the sewer system to be connected to the existing city sewers because of Orangi's unauthorised status. However, KMC 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.^{[citation needed]}

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 its five districts to form a new Karachi City-District with eighteen autonomous constituent towns including Orangi Town; a move which helped to better administer the area.^{[citation needed]}

Development [link]

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.

Geography [link]

Orangi stretches out from the Khasa Hills, North Nazimabad and Paposh Nagar towards the northern parts of Karachi. The Khasa Hills forms a natural boundary between Orangi Town and North Nazimabad Town. The City District Government has constructed a road through the Khasa Hills connecting Orangi Town with North Nazimabad Town^[7].

Neighbourhoods of Orangi Town [link]

Orangi Pilot Project [link]

Orangi poverty alleviation project (Orangi Pilot Project, OPP) was initiated by Akhtar Hameed Khan in 1980. The project was aimed at socio-economic development of the population of the vast Orangi area of Karachi.^[8] As the project director, Khan proved to be its dynamic and innovative leader.^[9] The project comprises a number of programs, including a people's financed and managed Low-Cost Sanitation Program;^[10] a Housing Program; a Basic Health and Family Planning Program; a Program of Supervised Credit for Small Family Enterprise Units; an education Program; and a Rural development Program in the nearby villages.^[11]

See also [link]

• Akhtar Hameed Khan
• City District Government Karachi
• Karachi Health and Social Development Association
• Orangi Charitable Trust
• Orangi Cottage Industrial Zone
• Khasa Hills
• Orangi Nala
• Orangi Pilot Project Society
• Orangi Pilot Project
• Orangi Research and Training Institute

References [link]

External links [link]

• Karachi Website
• The Orangi Welfare Project (Trust), a model for sustainable grassroots development
• [1]
• Orangi Town Blog

Coordinates: 24°57′N 66°58′E / 24.95°N 66.967°E / 24.95; 66.967