| 25 August 2004 | Wednesday | 08 Rajab 1425 |
Parking and traffic woes
PIA decision
Pakistan and Indian Muslims
Growing flowers
'Illegal' sale of gasoline
Whose city is Karachi?
Utilization of vacant military lands
'Our own risk and peril'
Yasir Hameed
Help for farmers
Need to import anti-TB drugs
Petroleum prices
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This has reference to your editorial "Speeding up denationalization" (August 23) concerning the St. Joseph's and St. Patrick's colleges. I am disappointed because it did not take a balanced view of the policy of nationalization and denationalization. It only tried to bail out the government from its prime responsibility of providing education and health to its citizens.
A balanced view would have cleared questions, which remained unanswered, that the government should have been made accountable for its failure rather then supporting a wrong policy. If we are heading for private education, what is the need for the ministry of education?
The problem lies with the implementation rather than the policy. Why in the West are education and health free and there is no hue and cry from the private sector? Private education today is a business in the country.
For instance, millions and millions of rupees have been collected in the name of the education cess, supposedly to establish schools for children of factory workers, but no one knows where the money has gone.
Why should the minister of education, directors and other officials of the education department be sincere about government schools when their own children are seeking education in private institutions?
Buildings of private schools, colleges and universities were hired as amenities, but were used as business ventures, violating even the required standard set up by the government itself. They have been built on 400 sq yd to 600 sq yd plots. What action has been taken for these violations?
The editorial says a formula can be worked out for an increase in the fees. Under the government's own rule for private schools, there is a formula but hardly anyone implements it.
Admission fees in private schools are from Rs25,000 to Rs60,000. What is the need of an admission fee? Can an average citizen in this country afford it? Then the average tuition fee is Rs3,000 for a nursery student and this goes up every year in accordance with inflation. Interestingly, the same formula is never applied to teachers' salaries.
Schools and colleges like St. Joseph's and St. Patrick's in Karachi have kept their standard despite nationalization, which clearly shows that there was nothing wrong in the policy itself. How come students of these students continue to get good grades despite nationalization? It is because of a commitment to education.
Education in Pakistan is a business, not a mission or commitment, whether in the private sector or in the government. In the private sector a few families are earning and in the government sector it is being used for making 'ghost schools and ghost teachers'. Education and health are the responsibility of the state, and we should continue to remind it through our columns and editorials.
MAZHAR ABBAS
Via email
(2)
Your editorial (August 23) about speeding up the denationalization of two Karachi colleges appeared in the end as an appeal from would-be denationalization beneficiaries.
Your paper has been critical of the standards of teaching at government colleges, but it has hardly been such an avid advocate of an issue as to demand issuance of notifications. You appear taken away by enthusiasm when compare the speed of denationalization in Punjab to that in Karachi, smacking of 'provincial' discrimination.
Also, your proposition that teachers' jobs will be secure for three years and fees will be raised in instalments does not, in fact, allay the fear of teachers and students that eventually their jobs will become insecure and the fee will rise beyond the reach of those who are now admitted to St. Joseph's and St. Patrick's colleges. You have assumed that the debate about denationalization has been settled and the protesters should be ignored.
DR RIAZ AHMED
Karachi
Parking and traffic woes
The news item (August 23) about the Karachi City Council's resolution to ban charged parking is confusing. Is the council saying that people should not park on roadsides, or is it saying that they should not be charged for doing so?
At present, in addition to citizens who pay CDGK contractors a parking fee to lawfully park on the roadside, there are citizens who pay parking mafias a 'fee' (which is, no doubt, shared with the police and town/city officials) to double- and triple-park in crowded commercial precincts like Saddar, I.I. Chundrigar Road, Tariq Road and Clifton. Is the city council planning to eliminate these illegalities in order to facilitate smooth flow of traffic?
This very same city council, in January this year, passed a resolution commercializing 19 roads in Karachi. This 'masterpiece' of ad hoc town-planning allowed a 10-fold increase in the size of commercial structures built on residential bungalow plots.
No advance planning studies were made of adverse effects on traffic or parking, or of the back-breaking load on utilities (like electricity, water, sewerage and garbage collection) or on infrastructure like schools, hospitals, parks, playgrounds, and police stations.
Earlier, in 2001 an 'enlightened' governor promulgated a 'regularization ordinance' making kosher hundreds of overbuilt and potentially dangerous buildings all over the city. The corresponding utilities and infrastructure for these aberrations have also not been provided.
Today, new building projects are being approved by the KBCA and cantonment boards, ignoring the minimum parking requirements mandated by bye-laws, or encroaching on road- widening schemes that were formulated in the 1950s when the population of Karachi was less than two million.
The government and politicians allegedly do all kinds of strange things 'to bring relief to the common man' who after being 'relieved' for 57 years can bear the 'relief' no more.
ROLAND DESOUZA
Shehri, Karachi
PIA decision
The decision by PIA to transfer free of charge the bodies of Pakistanis dying abroad is perhaps the first step taken by the airline's management to please its loyal clients.
PIA used to offer this facility a couple of years back, but for reasons best known to it the management had unilaterally withdrawn it. This singular step will generate more goodwill than all the publicity launched by PIA for decades on the electronic and print media.
One only hopes that the Pakistani expatriate community will use it with discretion, and only those who cannot afford it will utilise this free offer. It is also time PIA acknowledged the fact that its clients are mostly expatriate Pakistanis belonging to lower middle class, the bulk of whom originate from the rural areas.
We continue to maintain our links with our motherland and frequently visit it for holidays, marriages, etc. Since our brothers and sisters reside in Pakistan, we also send back a portion of our savings to help them.
However, we are loyal to our adopted countries which not only gave us jobs, but basic human rights like freedom of expression, choice and right to voice our dissent.
PIA recently diverted some of its flights from Manchester to facilitate those green card holders/ US nationals of Pakistani origin who held such status prior to 1998 and are now required to have a transit visa on flights bound to the US via the UK.
This step was taken by the PIA management on its own. People like us who are loyal to PIA would request them to offer more direct flights for Islamabad, Lahore, with convenient connections for Faisalabad, Peshawar, Sukkur, etc.
IRFAN BUTT
London, UK
Pakistan and Indian Muslims
This has reference to Mr Kuldip Nayer's article "Pakistan and Indian Muslims" (August 14). To me, in it the most important point is: "It was in the scheme of Jinnah's partition that the number of minorities in both countries would be large."
Jinnah's scheme envisaged British India's whole of Punjab and whole of Bengal to be part of Pakistan. If that Pakistan was agreed upon by the Congress, the minorities in both India and Pakistan would be large enough to ensure that the secular polity envisaged by liberals of both countries would have emerged because the majority ethnicity would have been on leash.
The vision of the 'economic union', of which New Delhi has been desirous for the region and for which Mr Nayer is laying stress in his article, would have been a natural consequence.
Nehru and his close associates torpedoed Jinnah's scheme by forcing him to accept mini partitions of Punjab and Bengal. In the process the Sikhs lost a greater future in Pakistan than they are now enjoying in India while the Punjabi Hindus lost heavily by throwing in their weight on the side of Nehru and his associates for the mini partition of Punjab.
It will not be an exaggeration to say that the Hindus and the Sikhs would have continued to dominate life in Punjab for all practical purposes because they would have had an upper hand in all fields of the economy of Punjab and, consequently, in the governance of Pakistan as a whole too, the population of Sindh, the NWFP and Balochistan together being too small compared with the old Punjab.
JALAL AHMED
Karachi
Growing flowers
Recently I went to Murree and Nathiagali where I saw children selling roasted corn-on-the cob and daisy garlands to be worn by children. Each garland was priced at Rs5. I also saw roses of a size seen only in English films, and exotic gladiolus, pansies, dahlias, carnations, etc.
Holland exports tulips the world over, Thailand sells orchids worldwide. It is a multi-million-dollar business. The climate of these areas is appropriate for cultivating such flowers. We have got land, water and, above all, a workforce that knows how to cultivate these flowers.
Why don't we train and educate the poor people of these areas to switch over to cultivation of exotic flowers? This will provide them with some meaningful livelihood instead of relying on wild daisies and corn. The agriculture departments of Punjab and the NWFP can take a lead and develop a crash programme.
S. NAYYAR IQBAL RAZA
Karachi
'Illegal' sale of gasoline
Unauthorized people are openly selling petrol and diesel in shops in Orangi and Surjani towns of Karachi and at some places even with the PSO monogram. They are defrauding consumers by mixing kerosene in the gasoline and are supplying it at cheap rates. Besides damaging engines, such fuels are a serious health hazard for people and the environment.
The department of explosives, weight and measurement and PSO are expected to keep a check on the illegal sale of gasoline, but they are doing nothing in this regard. The governor, the chief minister and the petroleum minister of Sindh are requested to take action against all those concerned and ensure that fuel is sold only at officially-designated petrol stations.
RAZI ALAM
Karachi
Whose city is Karachi?
This is with reference to the letter by Mr Mushtaq Ahmed Memon (August 22). The writer is right about his views and concerns for Karachi. Ms Benazir Bhutto proudly says she is the daughter of this city while Mr Altaf Hussain also claims to be the son of Karachi. Even General Musharraf talks with pride about his association with the city. Mr Shaukat Aziz also belongs to the city.
Sadly, all these sons and daughters of Karachi did nothing concrete to help save the city. But I disagree with Mr Memon on the point of Karachi being an unfortunate city. This city which provides shelter to millions is not unfortunate. Unfortunate are those who ruled and misruled and almost destroyed it.
There are those who allotted precious city lands at throwaway prices while military men continue to push the once beautiful Arabian Sea to the walls to make way for commercial and residential complexes. This is wholly unfair.
These injustices occur mainly because almost nobody claims to own this city. Seldom I see any banner or slogan of 'Love Karachi' or 'I love Karachi'. This is a sad state of affairs.
Unless somebody who is born here comes to the helm of affairs here, the city will continue to suffer. Sattar Afghani and Naimatullah Khan, both elected leaders belonging to the Jamaat-i-Islami, appear to be more concerned about the people of Wana than about denizens of Karachi.
I guess Karachi suffered because it was declared as a 'mini-Pakistan'. It is the capital of Sindh and it deserves to be treated as such. I remember once Mr Kamal Azfar, former governor, suggested that the people of Karachi should be called 'Karachians'. Perhaps his proposal never saw the light.
The city's main roads and in particular those in the DHA have been named after mostly those who did nothing for the metropolis while those names were sadly removed who did everything for it.
In Lahore or Peshawar, the authorities have kept the old names while in Karachi they remove them. As a Karachiite I feel ashamed. I am a silent witness to the planned and approved destruction of this city.
YUSUF KHAN
Karachi
Utilization of vacant military lands
In Dawn's issue of August 21, there were two advertisements of Military Lands and Cantonment Department inviting expression of interest from desirous/reputable international and domestic parties for utilization of vacant military lands in Karachi Cantonment and Nowshera Cantonment.
It has also been announced that the lands are ideally located, which they are, for commercial projects, offices, banks, shopping malls, showrooms, hotels, residences, etc.
We all know that Karachi is starved of places like parks, recreational facilities and playgrounds, of which there is no mention in the advertisements. The requirements of good town planning always give importance to open spaces for leisure activities.
The Military Lands and Cantonment Department, with its vast resources and immense experience, must of course be aware of this important aspect of simple town planning. Unlike the private sector or the greedy building mafia for whom shopping centres and buildings are everything, the government cannot be expected to be out only for shopping malls, showrooms and so on.
It is hoped that this is a lapse which will corrected for providing respite to the recreation-starved Karachiites. The provision of educational facilities within the vicinity is also one of the pre-requisites of good town planning.
SYED ISRAR ALI
Karachi
'Our own risk and peril'
In the above captioned article (Dawn, August 22) the writer has alleged that I had visited the office of Shehri - CBE. This is absolutely incorrect. I have never ever visited the Shehri - CBE office till today, alone or in the company of the late Khalid bin Walid, former senator Aftab Shaikh and others, nor have I ever met Amber Alibhai, Dr Raza Gardazi and others, nor have I ever told them not to raise any objection to the construction of a shopping plaza in Bohri Bazaar.
SYED SARDAR AHMAD
Minister for Finance and Cooperation, Sindh, Karachi
Yasir Hameed
Cricket coach Bob Woolmer has said under his guidance Pakistan are returning a good performance. But one realizes that Pakistan need changes in the batting line-up. Yasir Hameed must bat at middle order in place of Younus Khan as Hameed has always batted at No.3 in his first class career. He is a slow opener and can't play aggressive cricket when required.
MUBASHIR MAHMOOD
Karachi
Help for farmers
I fully agree with Mr Altamash Kureishi's views (August 23) that the plight of farmers should be realized and a solution found other than through subsidies. In this respect I would suggest the following:
1. The network of roads to and from farms to the main roads connecting the market should be improved to facilitate timely transportation of agricultural produce.
2. There is a need to expand the network of radio and TV to inform the growers of current market prices.
3. The government must encourage formation of cooperatives of growers to strengthen their power.
4. Banks and financial institutions must be required to lend money to growers on the basis of their acreage, estimated yield, and to extend repayments according to climatic conditions and natural hazards.
5. Insurance companies must be required to arrange crop insurance to cover losses caused by climatic conditions.
N.MECKLAI
Newmarket, Ontario, Canada
Need to import anti-TB drugs
Your editorial under the above headline (August 2) is a statement of facts. No new drug to cure tuberculosis has been introduced in the country in more than three decades.
Available drugs are extensively misused by both doctors and patients, resulting in the dreaded multi-drug resistant tuberculosis for which drugs are not available easily in the country. Most of the second line drugs are smuggled from India and are very costly.
Since our relations with India are improving, especially in the commerce sector, I request the government through your esteemed newspaper to freely allow import of anti-TB drugs from India, especially second line drugs.
DR ABDULLAH JAN PATHAN
Hyderabad
Petroleum prices
The future prime minister also happens to be the former finance minister. He is well acquainted with the economics of the country; as such we believe he understands the impact of a sudden rise in petroleum prices.
It is relevant to mention at this juncture that the surge in oil prices pertains to the futures market. This phenomenon being speculative in nature will subside in a few days on account of profit-making.
The oil advisory committee is, therefore, requested to adjust the difference, if any, to the existing surcharges and levies. The government in neighbouring India has taken similar steps to save the economy from collapsing and averting a recession.
RAFI ADAMJEE
Karachi
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