DAWN - Letters; April 1, 2003

Published April 1, 2003

Water distribution irregularities

THE Kotri barrage has four canals, two perennial and two non- perennial. K.B Feeder, the sole perennial canal on the right bank, supplies water to the Kinjher lake for Karachi. The remaining three canals are on the left bank and supply water to the agricultural lands.

Two of these canals, the Old Phullie and the New Phullie, are non-perennial and are dug at lower levels then Akram Wah (brick- lined channel), the only perennial canal on the left bank with four sub-divisions. The combined capacity of the two non- perennial canals is eight times that of the perennial canal.

As per the law, water is supplied in the perennial canals throughout the year (Rabbi and Kharif) whereas the non-perennial canals get water only during the Kharif season. The land holders on perennial canals pay double the taxes and water charges.

During the current Rabbi season the Kotri barrage has been receiving its due share of water for its perennial canals. However, the growers on the Akram Wah four sub-divisions, since September 1, 2002 to date, have been receiving water for only four to eight days in a month. Thus, they have suffered a water shortage of over 85 per cent during the current Rabbi season whereas the overall water shortage in Sindh has been less then 20 per cent.

The primary reason for this has been the irrational distribution of the water by the chief engineer, Kotri barrage. Every month, of the current Rabi season and early last Kharif, he has ordered full supply of water to the two non-perennial canals for eight to 10 days. These canals being at lower levels and of larger capacity take away eight times the water share received for the perennial canals and almost completely deplete the water poundage required to provide a full supply to the higher level Akram Wah.

The excuse offered is that this water is being released for drinking purposes. Nothing could be further from truth as sufficient water continues to the seep through the barrage doors to fulfil that need.

The effects of this irregularity are evident for all to see. The lands along the non-perennial canals are cultivated with sugarcane and orchards. These crops require water all year round. Along the perennial canal, Akram Wah four sub-division, large tracts of land have become barren and a desertification is resulting.

OWAIS SHAIKH

Karachi

Justice for Rachel?

“IT is a war. In a war these things happen. It’s just a bunch of Arabs. Why are you taking it so hard?” Israeli army sergeant quoted in Israeli weekly Kol Ha’ir (from Pity The Nation by Robert Fisk).

All right, then, who was Rachel Corrie? Just an Arab? Was she even just a naturalized American citizen, to whom the US Constitution doesn’t apply? Have even half of the people in America heard her name or how and why she was murdered?

Since she wasn’t fighting for the ‘honourable’ nation as a soldier or a pilot, her family won’t get recompense, if you can actually call it that. She was not even standing in front of an ‘Israeli’ home to protect it from damage, so it will be surprising if the US administration does anything at all. I also doubt citizens of the US will be comfortable with her being termed a martyr.

And so she will not get conventional justice. But her message is clear and will hardly be forgotten. She lost her life defending a cause she thought was worth it. And, fortunately, unlike some of her combatant compatriots, it was. Let’s not forget her. Not because she was Rachel Corrie, American. But because, even though she questioned her “fundamental belief in the goodness of human nature”, she wiped out my doubts completely.

There is hope for the Palestinians, the Iraqis, the Bosnians, the Afghans, for all of the oppressed. I do not say it will come tomorrow, or even this century, but it will certainly come one day.

S. JACQUES

Karachi

Return of F. C. College

The Forman Christian College of Lahore has been formally handed back to its original owner, the Presbyterian Church of America. Being one of the oldest institutions in the subcontinent, the college has contributed a lot in the development and expansion of ideas and human knowledge.

There is no denying the fact that the college belonged to the church, as decided by the Supreme Court back in 1995, some fears still ring in my mind.

Being an old Formanite, I am aware of the amount of money one requires to complete his or her education from this one of the most prestigious institutions in Pakistan. However, unlike some other colleges in the city, which have increased their fees exorbitantly once they got independence, the F.C. College should not do so.

The rest of the colleges have allowed their merit to fall miserably. Only the rich students enrol in such expensive colleges, who are hardly interested in hard work and who rarely secure high grades.

The F.C. College meeting a similar fate will be considered a sheer crime on the part of the government, whose fundamental responsibility it is to provide affordable and quality education for its people.

ALI JAWAD KHALID

Lahore

Saving Tharparkar forest

THAR and Parkar in southern Sindh comprise a pristine wild area with a natural and cultural diversity. This area is full of wildlife, desert scrub forest, sand dunes and a breathtaking landscape. The entire area is a wildlife sanctuary.

The natural beauty in this region is in grave danger because of deforestation by vested interest. Forest in Thar in general and, Karonjhar hills (in Nagarparkar area) in particular are, under siege owing to organized and systematic wiping out of a shrub like tree, locally known as ‘googlan’.

This hardy shrub yields a gum-like material locally known as “googar”. Deforestation of googlan will not only deforest and degrade the area environmentally, but will also add to the miseries of the local pastorals as the animals feed on its leaves.

Googar is an aromatic plant which is used as medicinal additive and adhesive agent in some industrial/building material. This gum is sold at lucrative prices in the Karachi market to traders and exporters. The most horrible thing in this entire episode is that, googar is extracted from the plant by applying a chemical through a cut, which cause a sudden extensive oozing of the gum from the plant.

The plant dies as a result of this cruel method and in this way the huge number of googlan plants are being killed for the sake of making a quick buck.

During our recent survey, we estimated that about 3,000-5,000 googlan trees are being destroyed every day in Karonjhar hills alone. The administration is very well aware of the issue and Section 144 has been imposed to protect this ill trade, but that has not stopped it because the influential people involved in this trade offer huge bribes to the police and the forest department officials.

This deforestation is extremely alarming because Thar and Nagarparkar are ecologically very fragile areas, where natural resources are under tremendous pressure by the growing human population and over-grazing. The Tharparkar district council has passed a resolution to prevent deforestation and demanded an immediate implementation of the ban.

We would like to draw the attention of the Sindh forest department, Sindh Environment Protection Agency, the district nazim and the Chief Minister of Sindh to this pressing issue. Furthermore, it is an old demand of nature lovers and the local people that the Karonjhar hills in Nagarparkar be declared as national park to save its biodiversity from exploitation.

We also demand that the government take immediate steps to create alternative employment in this drought-hit area, so that the local people may not get involved in the deforestation process.

TANVEER ARIF

Karachi

Cops and boy’s death

THIS refers to the news item (March 29) regarding the suicide committed by a 12-year boy in Shah Faisal Colony, Karachi, by self immolation. The young boy decided to take his life as he was sodomized by two policeman, the so-called guardians of honour and dignity of the citizens of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

Police pickets have been erected all over Pakistan in order to safeguard the lives and property of the people, and with the number of these check posts increasing every day the crime graph is also soaring. I commute very often on various roads in Pakistan, and as a matter of routine every passenger bus or wagon is stopped by the duty policeman posted at the so-called check posts.

The cleaner or the helper gets down from the bus to hand over the required “bhata” to the dutiful policemen and the barrier is lifted to let go the bus/wagon without any checking. The police check posts are a source of constant torture not only for the motorists but also for the pedestrians. On these check posts the targets are mostly motorbike riders while the elite riding in the Pajeros and Landcruisers pass through without any hindrance.

God alone knows how many young boys are criminally assaulted daily by these policeman while they are on duty at these so- called check posts all over the country. Only young Mohammad Owais’s story appeared in the newspapers because the poor boy burnt himself alive.

I request the authorities concerned and particularly the President of Pakistan to abolish these police check posts all over Pakistan. These check posts are serving no purpose and their presence leaves an impression of Pakistan being a police state and every citizen a criminal.

AAMIR AQIL

Lahore

Islamic shrines in India

THE VHP, in attempting to remove all traces of Islam in India, has targeted 30,000 Islamic monuments and shrines for destruction. Even if all the mosques and shrines in India have been built on the ruins of Hindu temples, the people who want to demolish these structures are bigger barbarians than the illiterate, bigoted Taliban who never destroyed a temple, church or gurdawara.

In fact, even throughout Pakistan, temples and other places of worship are intact (despite the high rate of illiteracy in the country). Perhaps the VHP wants to provoke extremists on our side to attack Hindu temples.

But they should realize that whenever an ancient place of worship in India is pulled down, India loses a part of its rich cultural heritage and becomes poorer as a result.

SHAKIR LAKHANI

Karachi

CLI applicant’s complaint

ON the night of March 16 there was an ad on PTV from PTCL that the subscribers desirous of getting CLI should contact 111-465-465. On ringing this number next morning I was told that this number was not in use by anyone and I should ask 17 for the correct number.

I got the number 106 on contacting 17 and was given work No. 667 by the operator. Incidentally, the CLI facility has not been installed as yet in spite of a written letter to the DE, Gulshan Zone, for phone No. 4967610, and a verbal reminder to 106 on March 18.

Why is the PTCL putting a wrong ad for days is not clear. It is not prompt either in work.

A SUBSCRIBER

Karachi

A noble gesture

THIS refers to the letter by Arif Humanyun (March 3) in response to Narayana Hrudayalaya’s offer of free heart surgery to Pakistani public.

Being an Indian now settled in Canada I am a regular reader of Dawn. I was very happy to see such a letter in your paper about my country.

There are many charitable institutions in India like Narayana Hrudayalaya, Shankara Netralaya (Eye Clinic)and Satya Sai Hospital, most of them run by religious charities and offer free medical services to public irrespective of their faiths and geographical backgrounds. The facilities and treatment at these medical centres are at par with any good hospitals found in developed countries and are mostly funded by non-resident Indians abroad.

I hope the gestures shown by these medical centres which serve the needs of the poor people will change hearts on both sides of the border to have a friendly relationship.

United, both India and Pakistan can concentrate on education, health and economy rather than spending their valuable resources and time on defence.

India with its superior educational institutions like IITs, IISc, IIMs, RECs, medical institutes, software training institutes and research institutions can help Pakistan in the field of education also. This facility is offered to most Middle East countries, such as Iran, whose students come to India for study.

RANGA M. IYENGAR

Toronto, Canada

Bank service charges

THE service charges for pay order and DD are so high that they look utterly funny. The HBL charges Rs80 in service charges for a pay order of Rs200 or so, while the MCB charges Rs100 if the customer is not an account holder and Rs50 if the customer is an account holder.

For a DD of the value of Rs300 or so the charges are Rs60, while for a DD of Rs100,000, the charges are Rs140. Are these rates decided whimsically or is there some logic behind them? Only a bank can clarify.

ZAMIR AHMAD

Karachi

A tribute to Maisoon

THE news of Maisoon Hussein’s death was shocking. My short affiliation with her as a human rights and women rights activist compels me to pay tribute to her.

I cannot find words to express her abilities. She was a devoted and prolific writer and whatever she penned down was no doubt a deep investigative and well-researched piece of work.

She was not only a loss to her family but a great loss to the field of journalism.

FARHAT NAZ RAHMAN

Karachi

Education system

IT is a fact that Pakistan has a low literacy rate. It is time some effective measures were taken to correct this situation.

The main reason for this is that children from lower classes are discouraged from attending school because of their families’ poor income. Even primary education is neglected on a widespread level.

One way to resolve the problem is to ensure that free public schools are made available even in rural areas. Also, the government should allocate more money in the budget for education and make it compulsory for all children to attend school up to the secondary level.

FATIMA ZAHRA

Karachi

KESC & Wapda’s sale

THE International Monetary Fund reportedly has asked for early privatization of Wapda and the KESC. The mission believes that both these enterprises are a drain on the national exchequer and it is necessary to either make them profitable by inducting private-sector managements or privatize them at the earliest.

The IMF fails to appreciate that privatization cannot be affected overnight. It would be unwise and disastrous if these enterprises are sold at throw-away prices in a hurry. First of all no bidder in the market is ready to give a reasonable bid. Secondly, no greater competition is foreseen as has been the case with other units under privatization by the PC.

Power tariffs, which are already touching the highest in the world, will go skyrocketing after the intended privatization. This will play havoc with the public, the industry, the agriculture and commerce, which in turn will be responsible for the ultimate bankruptcy of the entire economy. The IMF should concentrate on curing the patient rather than killing it.

The government and the institutions need to guard against the privatization of the power sector. They should get their act together to improve the working of Wapda and the KESC, increase their efficiency and root out corruption. In-house efforts are needed to get Wapda and the KESC out of the red.

ENGR RIAZ AHMED BHUTTA

Lahore

Need for an effective world body

IT is beyond any doubt that the American-led invasion of Iraq is a severe blow to the current international system. Its repercussions will be felt for quite a long time yet. The failure of the United Nations to ensure world peace and stability gives one reason to think about its shortcomings.

After seeing the situation in Iraq, it is obvious that no small country can rely on the genius and understanding of the permanent members of the UN Security Council. A growing consensus in the international community is that there should be some sort of reforms in the world body to make its decisions more effective and binding in the case of conflicts.

The reforms should include enlisting of more permanent members in the UN Security Council. This means increasing the leverage of more nations in deciding the world affairs and minimizing the power and influence of the sole superpower. The new members should come from Asia, Africa and Latin America as North America and Western Europe are already over represented.

The new entrants must also come from a diverse background with different regional and international perspectives and should be democratic. At least one Muslim country should be included in the Council or the OIC should be given the slot as most of the current political disputes include Muslim countries.

The power to veto should be taken away from the permanent members as it has been abused against the majority by a single veto-yielding nation time and again.

The General Assembly is like a world assembly. Its ceremonial role is not helping any important cause. Its power should be increased to make it effective. In this way, each and every country will be able to have a say in world affairs. These suggestions and some other will improve the working and image of the now feeble looking United Nations.

ADNAN LODHI

Lahore

(2)

COLLECTIVE security is one of the key principles of the United Nations. If any member country is attacked by another country and its sovereignty is violated, the remaining member countries should act to support the oppressed country, to the extent of waging war to defend the oppressed country.

Based on this principle, Iraq was fought when it crossed over into Kuwait. However, the truth is that the high principles of the UN are only followed or violated whenever it suits the imperial agendas of the big powers, especially where the blood of Muslims is concerned.

So, where was the collective security mechanism when the Soviets invaded Afghanistan, Israel invaded southern Lebanon and America Iraq?

DR AMJAD MAHMUD

Lahore

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