For anyone not knowing what Karachi Eat is and why it is trending as Karachi Beats, here is the answer.
Karachi Eat is the city’s biggest food fest, which has been going strong for the past five years. The tenth edition of the festival had two peaceful days but the last day shocked the nation after Twitterati posted harrowing details of a huge stampede, sexual harassment, public brawls and an unruly crowd going into a frenzy and groping.
From singer Kaifi Khalil storming off the stage amidst the chaos, Young Stunners refusing to play and people climbing the walls to enter without tickets, this food fest was anything but peaceful.
Criticising the incompetence of the management, Twitter users shared videos of the entrance gates crashed by an frantic crowd who tried to sneak in without paying.
Eyewitnesses of the horrific incident shared details in their tweets. Female attendees of the event have shown their anger and disgust for the perpetrators.
It had also been reported that singer Kaifi Khalil was injured during his show at the fest but he clarified that he is safe and the news of his injury contain zero veracity.
Karachi eats was so mismanaged oh my god esp this last day. Men were jumping over the fence from outside and pushing their way to the front of the stage. Someone fainted and had to be carried out through the crowd. I could see only 4 girls around me in a swarm of men despite it
— dukhi aatma ???? (@_m4hii) January 8, 2023
Women in the family section were harassed. Tents were dismantled and to deal with it the management switched off all the lights which made the situation worse. Like literally wtf #KarachiEat2023
— Armash (@armashshahab) January 8, 2023
Made it out thank god. There were men outside the venue trying to get in to harass women. The police were trying to control them, and suddenly the lights went out and they were all hooting like crazy. Had to climb out of a broken wall to get safely to my car.
— ⛈ ???????????????? ʕु•̫͡•ʔु☂ (@Arei_ed) January 8, 2023
There was almost a major stampede yesterday night at #KarachiEat. Barricades were broken. Women were harassed. Stuff was thrown at the performing artists. A ‘family only’ event turned into an ‘All Men’ event.
Women were told to leave using the emergency exits for their safety. pic.twitter.com/Rc4uFQyMB2— l (@laylaaff) January 9, 2023
Stags broke the gates and forcefully entered #KarachiEat today. People are saying that they literally had to leave through spaces between walls and jump off them to get out of the chaos. Please ban such events in the city if security can’t be managed.
— Armash (@armashshahab) January 8, 2023
The Kahani Suno singer issued a statement suggesting, “I would just like to clarify the fake news that’s circulating about me getting injured during my performance at the Karachi Eat event yesterday, which isn’t true.”
The Kana Yaari crooner added, “I will say that I am a little disappointed and upset because of what happened yesterday. Ladies that came to enjoy the evening with their family and friends were harassed and treated inappropriately by a group of individuals who lacked decency and common sense.”
Khalil claimed, “The event was cancelled mid-performance because I couldn’t continue with what was going on and it became a concern for people in the audiences as well. I request the organisers to please take the safety of everyone attending into consideration.”
Hello everyone thank you for your pure love and support. kindly Read this and share. pic.twitter.com/QWLseK2EbN
— Kaifi Khalil (@kaifi_khalil) January 9, 2023
After Khalil, other artists refused to perform including the Dil Ke Ishaaray famed Taha G who stated in an Instagram story, “Sorry to everyone who came through today, things got out of hand due to trespassing and overcrowding so performances had to be cancelled. I was extremely excited, the best I have ever sounded. I am extremely sorry once again. Stay safe.”
In response to the event’s unfortunate happening, one of the organisers said, “A large crowd tore down the walls, fought with the security present, scaled the barricades to enter the premises and spread fear to those present at the event.”
The statement further read, “Despite security measures, the crowd was extremely unruly and stormed through the event causing harm to our security as well.”
The organiser added, “We keep the ticket prices as low as we can to make the event accessible to all. Hiking the price will only make it possible for the elite to attend which defeats the purpose of the Eat festival. It will not remain inclusive anymore. Day one saw even more numbers of crowds than day three and yet day one went on smoothly as did day two but the mob on day three that violated the security measures ruined the festival for the people present.”
The statement further read, “We encouraged carpooling and even partnered with Careem to help reduce traffic and even posted it on our socials to carpool in order to avoid the traffic but despite that, every attendee brought a car to the event which created a bottleneck on the roads.”
“This event is for the people. We started this event to give back public spaces to people so they could own their city. What happened makes us question whether we need to conduct these events with extreme security protocols present and limit our audiences if our mob can’t behave. What’s the point of creating a platform for our city if the mob can’t contain themselves?”
The statement concluded, “The idea of reclaiming our public spaces is what this event was about. This is why we started this. If we are now forced to do events in barren lands because we do not have the self-discipline or the responsibility to conduct ourselves in a manner that allows everyone to enjoy without feeling harassed then that is a sad statement on what we are as a society.”
