KARACHI:Several years after the creation of new districts in Karachi, thousands of residents are

Many argue that government departments should automatically update official records when new districts are created instead of requiring residents to visit multiple offices. Over the past few years, Korangi was carved out of East District, while Keamari was created from West District.

They must also have the new district name incorporated into the address recorded on their Computerised National Identity Cards (CNICs).

However, many residents have retained documents carrying the name of their former district, either because they were unaware of the need to update them or because they only sought changes when a specific need arose.

Citizens say the issue becomes particularly problematic when they apply for government jobs, educational admissions or other services for which district-based quotas and verification are involved.

They argue that labourers and salaried employees often cannot afford to spend days visiting different government offices to have their records updated. Recently, Imran Ahmed, a resident of Korangi District, encountered the problem while applying for a Grade-5 government job.

Ahmed subsequently contacted the Korangi Deputy Commissioner's Office and requested that the matter be resolved. Similarly, Abdul Quddus, a resident of Hawks Bay in Keamari District, said he faced a similar problem when applying for a domicile for his daughter. He said his own domicile had been issued under the former West District, while his daughter's documents were submitted to the Deputy Commissioner's Office in Keamari.

The office sent the documents to the former West District DC Office for verification, resulting in delays. Quddus said he had to visit offices in both districts several times before his daughter's domicile could be processed.

Another resident, Muhammad Amin, of Budhni Goth in Keamari District, highlighted difficulties relating to medical college admissions., before Keamari became a district, Keamari Town had been allocated 10 MBBS seats at Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Medical University.

Following the creation of Keamari District, those seats were divided among three towns - Mauripur, Baldia and Moriro Mirbahar. The cases highlight the complications that can arise when administrative boundaries change but citizens' official records remain linked to their former districts. Karachi now comprises seven districts - East, West, South, Central, Malir, Keamari and Korangi.

As a result, the district mentioned on the CNICs, domiciles and PRCs of many residents no longer corresponds to their current district of residence. On the other hand, Keamari Deputy Commissioner Abdul Sattar Hakro claimed that, generally, the creation of a new district did not cause problems for ordinary citizens.