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Kala Chapra is a sign of Karachi's past

An important stop in the 1970s was "Kala Chapra", the name of which very few people are familiar with today. Were familiar with The stop was between Natha Khan Goth and the Drug Colony, where either the residents of the Civil Aviation Colony would come down or they would want to watch a movie at a luxury cinema in the evening. This gigantic structure got the name "Kala Chapra" because of its dark color.

This structure did not exist, but the bus stop remained called Kala Chapra for the next several years. The Hangar was the largest steel structure in British times. It was designed in 1927 as part of the British government's royal aerial plan and then built with great skill. It was an aircraft station.

After a long flight, the planes would rest here and then depart for the next journey. Kala Chapra The British government built six R-100 airports in collaboration with the Ministry of Aviation and other companies. An airship is a special type of aircraft that flies with the help of a gas balloon.

Kala Chapra is a sign of Karachi's past

It was a flying caterpillar that flew to its destination with the help of high-speed wings driven by young men. They used to live there, but the airships also used to carry the passengers in their beds and fly away. This high hangar was built within the boundaries of Karachi Airport to anchor the airship. The plane flew from Britain to Australia, in the meantime it also stayed in Karachi.

At 6 pm on October 4, 1930, the airship took off from Cardington, England, with 54 passengers on board, but unfortunately crashed into French territory just eight hours later due to technical problems.
Kala Chapra is a sign of Karachi's past

In Karachi, the plane was eagerly awaited to land on a black roof. The people of Karachi were anxious to see it descend, but they were enslaved to hear of its devastation. For the next four decades after the incident, the hangar waited for another ship, but no ship here. Had to come, didn't come. When the hangar became rusty and black, the people of Karachi called it "Kala Chapra".

For those traveling on the National Highway from Hyderabad and Thatta to Karachi and by train, Kala Chapra was a milestone. Due to its height, it could be seen long before the city limits began, especially when train passengers sat quietly until they saw the black hut, packing at the first sight of the hut. Used to
Kala Chapra is a sign of Karachi's past


In the 60's, during the Ayub regime, this gigantic structure was sold to a large junk shop in Karachi. The scavengers continued to cut the structure for several days, until one day this symbol of Karachi disappeared from the horizon of Karachi, but the Kala Chapra stop remained for the next 20 years, then lost in the pages of history. At the time when we started traveling in buses from Quaidabad to the city center, Kala Chapra used to be a well-known stop. As the buses proceeded from Natha Khan Goth, the conductor would start warning the passengers alighting with the sound of Kala Chapra Kala Chapra.

Kala Chapra is a sign of Karachi's past

Syed Zameer Jafari has also not only mentioned the black hut in his book "Zamiriyat", but has also written an obituary for it. In 1960, Colonel Maqbool Elahi Darwish auctioned it off as per the decision of the Ministry of Defense. In the days when the skin of this hut was being torn, Raqim Al-Huroof lived in the shadow of its affection in the Drug Road cantonment.


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