| October 22, 2005 | Saturday | Ramzan 17, 1426 |
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Reconstruction and accountability
Wetlands conservation project
Jinnah speeches
Shanul Haq Haqqee
Protecting environment
EPA clarification
Bank appointment
Ramazan prices
I AGREE with Dr Ali Asghar (Letters, Oct. 19) about the positive attitude of Pakistanis following the earthquake tragedy. I blame the media for showing too much of the negative side. If you go out on the streets you can easily see camps set up by different political and religious parties that full of relief goods.
You just can’t eliminate the negative elements especially when a disaster such as this hits an underdeveloped country. But focusing on the negative aspects shakes the confidence of those who are donating generously. The weather, the large geographical area affected and poor management have all contributed to a slowing down of the relief work but that does not mean that the spirit of the Pakistani people is waning.
SAEEDUL HODA
Karachi
When an earthquake strikes, as a golden rule, move to an open area. If you decide to remain indoors, do not operate electrical switches or appliances, do not use matches, lighters, or open-flame appliances, watch for falling plaster, bricks, light fixtures, ceiling fans, stay away from windows and duck under a sturdy table. Protect yourself from head injury by covering yourself and remain covered until the shaking stops or protect your head with your arms.
If you are in a high-rise building, do not dash for exits. Stairways may be broken or jammed with people. Do not use elevators because they may fail. When outside, avoid seeking shelter in the vicinity of high-rise buildings, electrical poles, and other objects that could fall. If you are in a vehicle, slow down carefully, pull over to the side of the road, and stop at the safest place available. Avoid overpasses, bridges and underpasses and stay inside the vehicle until the shaking is over. The principal objective should be to reduce the risks of injury.
The safety of the buildings depends on the fact whether the builder has complied with building codes so that the structure is able to withstand the effects of earthquakes. It is time to systematically assess the seismic safety of buildings, develop an inventory of buildings having unacceptable seismic risks and mitigate unacceptable seismic risks in such buildings. I hope Pakistani builders and contractors are familiar with the codes concerned with the structural integrity of buildings during earthquakes.
FOUZIA RAHMAN
Karachi
IT is with great pain that we heard of the devastating catastrophe that has hit your great nation. We extend our solidarity to you and offer our prayers. We also plan to contribute in kind to the relief fund through our prime minister’s relief fund. We are sure your great nation will come out of this crisis stronger in spirit and confidence. Let the holy month of Ramazan empower you all spiritually and physically.
I am from Kerala, the southernmost state of India. Here, we all live peacefully — Hindus, Muslims and Christians. I am a Christian myself but I have close friends who are Hindu as well as some who are Muslim.
P.L.JOSHY
Cochin, India
New building rules
A meeting was held in Islamabad to make new rules to prevent any future disaster like the Margalla Towers (news item, Oct 14).
I feel that there is no shortage of good rules regarding construction of safe buildings in Pakistan. However, equally there is no shortage of “competent authorities” relaxing these rules. We have competent authorities regularizing several extra floors on top of a building after paying penalties, fines, etc.
Also there is no shortage of SROs to overrule the original existing rule. There is no shortage of multi-storied flats with leaking soil pipes eroding the plaster and concrete underneath with a pathetic facade waiting for a jolt.
We need only one new rule — that is to stop these relaxation and regularization orders by our ‘‘competent’’ authorities. God only knows when will we learn.
Not in the near future, I am afraid. One only has to watch these leaky, pathetic, uncoordinated buildings to sense the danger.
DR SERAJUDDAULA SYED
Karachi
Indian help
GREAT disasters bring about great changes. I hope this horrible disaster that our Pakistani brethren are enduring will help in bringing our nations together.
I pray that Pakistan accepts the Indian army’s help. We cannot watch innocent children suffer.
YOGESH
Bangalore, India
THIS is with reference to Senator Tanvir Khalid’s letter (Oct 16) on the quake of Oct 8.
I am an engineer by profession and a keen environmentalist.
A few months ago I visited the Hazara area. After my visit I met some senior NWFP government officials and the federal environmental protection agency. Even the British, prior to 1947, had known that this area and Kashmir were in an earthquake zone and that was the reason they had placed restrictions on the construction of tall buildings and introduced tougher building codes.
But when I told them this, most of the officials laughed at me to my face and also ridiculed the British. Sadly, it seems, the country continues to be held hostage by a mafia which is so strong that it does not let go of its grip over Pakistani society. This mafia works as a group; for example, one brother is in the army, one brother is a minister, one a nazim, one a civil servant, and yet another a contractor and one a maulvi. The last “brother” keeps the poor unsuspecting public busy about divine recriminations and how to avoid going to hell.
In Canada, where I live, there is a system which ensures that mafias do not hold society hostage. If people die or are injured because of someone’s corruption or negligence, then the court system sees to it that those affected are paid adequate compensation and that the culprits go to jail. It is common for those affected to sue the government department concerned for providing bad or faulty service — a concept mostly unknown in Pakistan.
Since any Canadian citizen can sue the government, the latter is very careful about the quality of government buildings, services and so on. In Pakistan the mullahs are trying to divert the public’s attention by saying that the earthquake was a punishment from God. This is a diversion because nobody is talking about the substandard government buildings in which thousands of children died. The irony also is that in the last 58 years, Pakistan received billions of dollars in aid but it is a shame that we did not spend a penny received on building up our ability to cope with natural disasters or to provide some semblance of safe housing to the poor.
During my visit I found that government schools were in theory at least supposed to be twice as strong as other buildings. Rs1.3 million had been allotted to one primary school and that this was for building one extra room. The NWFP works department had come to this high figure because the reasoning was that the material used should be the best and the building code requirements were quite rigorous. But the reality was quite different. I found that the contractor was hardly putting any cement in the mortar and instead of seasoned deodar wood he was using cheap ply wood.
The building was very substandard and when I asked him to explain what he was doing, the contractor told me that how could he use deodar wood or better construction material because he had to pay 40 per cent of the money to government officials as bribe.
I also found that the biggest and the most modern houses in the village belonged to low-ranking officials and overseers (subordinate engineers) of the communication and works department. Also, a visit to any district of Pakistan will be enough to see the bungalows built by executive engineers of government departments.
The point here is that people affected by the tragedy need to sue the works department of the NWFP and Azad Kashmir. That is the only way that justice will be given to those who lost their loved ones.
NWFP Chief Minister Akram Durrani has said that his government will need Rs32 billion for reconstruction and that no contracts will be given to corrupt contractors. He forgot to mention corrupt engineers. Also, given that the officials of today are probably the same as those who awarded the contracts for these schools years ago, how will the NWFP government ensure that the money is again not squandered or embezzled?
MAHMOOD ASLAM
Vancouver, BC, Canada
THIS is with reference to the news report by your staff reporter Bhagwandas regarding a wetlands conservation project (Oct 17) and the editorial “Wetlands in dire straits (Oct 18)”. It is a golden opportunity for Pakistan in respect of conservation that a Rs700-million wetland conservation project over seven years has been approved, jointly funded by the Global Environment Facility, UNDP-Pakistan, the Royal Netherlands embassy, WWF-International and the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund. This project will be implemented by the federal environment ministry with technical assistance from WWF-Pakistan and other agencies.
At this time I would like to draw the attention of the decision-makers and the funding organizations to monitor the process of selection and recruitment of personnel who will implement the project, and ensure transparency in the process.
Only qualified, well-oriented experts with extended experience in the field should be selected since the project is addressing a very specialized field of wetlands and requires thorough knowledge and expertise. If the project is not handled carefully, then the opportunity available will be lost, the funds will be wasted.
Here I would like to quote the remarks of the chief Justice of Pakistan -– as reported by Mr Ardeshir Cowasjee in his column “The criminals amongst us (Oct 16)” — concerning the cancellation of a housing scheme near Margalla Hills National Park which was approved by and had been issued an NOC by the federal Environmental Protection Agency. In his remarks, the chief justice pointed out that the directot-general of environment was a mechanical engineer by profession and thus hardly an environment specialist.
This proves that specialized positions require specialized expertise and qualified personnel but unfortunately such important positions are not filled with experts from specialized fields which ultimately leads to improper decisions and improper use of funding.
This is not only happening in governmental organizations, but also in the leading NGOs many of which are not led by proper specialists in the related subjects.
I hope all funding organizations and the environment ministry will ensure the proper selection of experts.
MOAZZAM ALI KHAN
Karachi
IN his letter on “Jinnah Speeches” (October 9), Mr. S. Afzaal Husain Zaidi wonders “if the original script of ....(his August 11) speech in the Quaid’s hand has been preserved for posterity”. Instead of merely making sure that the said speech has been included in a reprint of the Quaid-i-Azam Speeches as Governor-General, in 1976 he would have noted, if he had read the speech more closely, that Jinnah had himself confessed early in that speech that “I cannot make any well-considered pronouncement at this moment, but I shall say a few things as they occur to me” (italics added). That means he was not reading from a written text, but delivering it extempore. If that be the case how does Mr. Zaidi expect a copy of “the original script of the speech in the Quaid’s hands” to be “preserved for posterity”? A good many people and writers have alleged that the Quaid’s August 11 speech has been censored, off and on, during various periods of our national history. But on some solid grounds, I attribute this allegation to a widespread penchant for sensationalism and gullibility on the part of some of our writers and columnists, and the public at large.
I have in my possession almost all the editions and reprints of Jinnah’s speeches, and all of them contain the full text. I have myself quoted verbatim the “controversial” passage in that address in my Jinnah: Studies in Interpretation (1981), but no one had taken exception to it, although some well-known columnists (such as Suleri, Meem Sheen, and Dr. Baqar) took exception to some of my comments while dilating on that address.
Even at the risk of sounding immodest I must bring to the notice of your readers the fact that I have been writing continuously on various aspects of Jinnah’s public life and leadership since 1945. I have also been trying to keep track of most of the things published on and about Jinnah for the past 60 years, depending upon their accessibility. And I intend to get this myth of censoring Jinnah exorcised, once and for all, shortly.
Prof. Sharif al Mujahid
former chairman,
Quaid-i-Azam Academy,
Karachi
SHANUL Haq Haqqee, 88, distinguished Pakistani scholar, lexicographer, poet, and critic, died in Toronto on Oct 11. Mr Haqqee was born in Delhi in 1917, and was educated at the Aligarh Muslim University and St Stephen’s College, Delhi. The range of his literary interests took him deep into three languages — Urdu, English and Hindi — and spanned several genres. He began his writing career with poetry, but went on to explore other fields of literature such as translation, short stories, and lexicography. Besides his collection of ghazals and other forms of Urdu poetry for adults, he also wrote poems for children. His collection of children’s poetry, Phool Khiley Hain Rang Barange, radiates a wonderful sense of humour and sensitivity to what will hold a child’s interests. His linguistic scholarship was profound, and he produced a major work, the Tarang-i-Talaffuz, an invaluable, one of its kind reference book in Urdu. He was also perhaps the most gifted, qualified and experienced lexicographer in Pakistan and a great practitioner of the art of lexicography. He had been associated with the Urdu Lughat Board for a number of years, working on the monumental Urdu dictionary, devised on the lines of the Oxford English Dictionary which is spread over 20 volumes. My association with him began in 1989 when I contacted Mr Haqqee on behalf of the Oxford University Press to ask him to translate the Concise Oxford Dictionary into Urdu. He responded immediately.
From 1989 to 2005 when we worked together closely it was a pleasure and an education to work with him. He was a driven person and scholarship and excellence were his sole objectives. He worked in a thorough manner and was a total perfectionist in the way he accepted any editorial comments and suggestions. He did not have a closed mind nor was he arrogant about his knowledge and achievements, and accepted good, constructive ideas willingly. However, he was highly critical of trivial and unsubstantiated criticism.
After completion of the COD English-Urdu edition, he began work on an Urdu to Urdu dictionary for us on which he was working at the time of his death.
Mr Haqqee seemed to have been gifted with a magic wand of excellence, which he could wave over whatever genre of literature that took his fancy, and produce spectacular results. He translated the Bhagavadgita and other major classics from Hindi into Urdu, and various other works from English into Urdu. We were privileged to have published his Urdu translation of Antony and Cleopatra.
A highly gifted and feted man, Mr Haqqee was nevertheless endowed with a winning and impressive humility. His passing is a great loss to the nation and to the world of Urdu letters.
AMEENA SAIYID
Managing Director,
Oxford University Press,
Karachi
WITH reference to the letter “Protecting environment” (Sept 23), I am glad that the young students of St Mary’s and St Lawrence cleaned the Doongi ground and garden located opposite the St Mary’s School, Gulberg 2, Lahore. The students also planted plants and trees so that the area should look green. It is a pleasure to see the children in the grounds. Doongi ground is a rendezvous for old people too, who walk in small groups in the morning to keep healthy.
In the afternoon young budding cricketers play and practice in this ground and also jog on the track there.
Now the land mafia wants to grab the children’s park, which is meant for the students of St Mary’s. I can’t understand why Punjab government wants to hand over the playground to the mafia to convert the playground into an amusement complex and to build highrise commercial buildings.
No one speaks out against the landgrabbers. We will be deprived of a natural recreation facility, which we have been enjoying for 40 years.
Why doesn’t anyone take legal action against the land mafia?
NISHAT GULZAR
Karachi
REFEREBCE Mr Bilal Ahmed’s letter (Oct 19), I am an M.Sc in environmental sciences from the University of Karachi and also a law graduate form the S.M. Law College, Karachi. I also have an MBBS degree. Mr Bilal Ahmed may correct his record.
DR IQBAL SAEED KHAN
Director, EPA, Sindh
Karachi
A LETTER appearing in Dawn (Sept 4) draws attention of the State Bank of the Pakistan to a multinational foreign bank which is not issuing appointment letters on its own letterheads. These are being issued on the letterheads of their consultants. The SBP has not yet clarified if this practice is correct.
Most of the staff members in this bank who joined two or three years ago have still not been confirmed and have not been given the same facilities as their colleagues who are permanent. After six months the bank is supposed to let an employee know whether his services are needed or not rather than let him linger on for two or three years in the hope that he will be made permanent.
I wish to seek the guidance of the State Bank. This will be beneficial for your readers and also human resources personnel in financial institutions.
MALIK RUB NIWAZ
Karachi
PEOPLE of my vintage (I am 78) will recall that at the advent of Ramazan in pre-partition days (in Lucknow, for example) all the traders, including Hindus, used to reduce the prices of commodities, be it by a token amount of even two paisa.
They said it was to provide some relief during Ramazan. In our Islamic republic, come the holy month, and prices shoot up.
Sadder still, trucks carrying relief goods for quake victims are being bought by hoarders, and they are also being looted on the way. Wonder why has this moral degeneration set in.
YUSUF ALI
Karachi
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