The skyrocketing prices of fruits and other essential kitchen items and persisting high temperature has failed to hinder the tradition of the roadside Iftar arrangement which rapidly expanding in the city during the holy month. Philanthropists, traders' associations, welfare organizations and wealthy people have set up stalls at every major street and outside the markets of the city to facilitate the commuters.
People belonging to different strata of society set up free Iftar stalls on the roadside to facilitate hundreds of passers- by without any discrimination of cast and creed. There has been tremendous progress witnessed in setting up these stalls for the last many years. People belonging to different strata of society set up free Iftar stalls on the roadside to facilitate hundreds of passers- by without any discrimination of cast and creed.
The concept of street Iftar stalls was originally introduced by the dwellers of Burns Road to help people trapped in massive traffic jams. The names of these places, included II Chundrigar Road, MA Jinnah Road, Shahrah-e-Faisal, Shah Waliullah Road, Abul Hassan Isphahani Road, University Road, Shahrah-e-Quaideen, Tariq Road, Zaibunnisa Street, Khayaban-e-Shamshir, Main Saba, Gizri, Sea View, Rashid Minhas Road, Saphoora Chowrangi, Malir, Hasan Squire, Model Colony, Hyderi Market, Meena Bazaar Karimabad, Liaquatabad, Five Star Chowrangi, Samama Market and others. Karachiests always stand at the front row when it comes to helping others. They have always stood together with the affectees of natural calamities in Pakistan in their most trying times and have tried their best to reduce the intensity of the victims' misery with their kindness and openhandedness. Their enthusiasm reaches to its peak especially in the month of Ramazan.
For many years, the people of Karachi used to arrange roadside Iftar voluntarily for travelers and needy people during the whole month of Ramazan and it has now become a tradition. The one that belongs to the upper class and the one who belongs to the lower class both enjoy with same Iftar. An estimate suggests that thousands of small and big Iftar arrangements have been made in every Ramazan in almost all parts of the city. Residents of posh areas also set up Iftar camps outside their residences and it can also been seen outside different Masjids. Even in some markets, shopkeepers collect money and food items from shops on a daily basis and hand them over to committees responsible for setting up the street stalls before Iftar time.
This year also hundreds of free Iftar stalls along all major road sites set up by the wealthy people to get the blessing of Almightily Allah during holy month of Ramadan. Though, the city temperature has touched 45 degree and price-hike is at large disturbing the every person of the country, in spite of that Karachiites did not ignore their norm of hospitality, especially in the holy month of Ramadan and continued arranging the roadside voluntarily Iftar to facilitate the passengers and deprived citizens in the city. Iftar is usually heavy, consisting mainly jalebi, samosas, pakoras and namak para, fruits besides the staple dates, Sharbat, Biryani and water.