| November 10, 2005 | Thursday | Shawwal 7, 1426 |
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Triumph of insanity
Volunteer movement in AJK
Reason and religion
Kalabagh: views disputed
Double deckers
Greasing palms
Taming the law-breakers
I WAS in Garhi Dupatta in Azad Kashmir for some time working at a field hospital. I think it is important to know what is going on up there and what can be done to help the survivors. I was invited to work at PIMS. There appears to be no sense of urgency there. To me, it seemed like just another day at a government hospital. Medical students seemed to be more involved in socializing while junior resident level doctors were sitting around in their respective offices.
The chief of surgery happened to drop by for a meeting. I offered my services and he was quite offended by my remarks that not much appeared to be going on in the hospital. I was told that in the preceding eight days, they had placed 12 chest tubes and had performed one splenectomy. The ICU had nine patients in it.
On our insistence, they agreed to send us to Mansehra. The destruction becomes evident past Abbottabad. One has already seen images on TV but the smell of death, however, has to be experienced. The government degree college in Mansehra is now a makeshift hospital. Second-year medical students were dealing with infected open fractures, using diclofenac as pain medication. I spoke with the Swiss orthopaedic surgeon running the outfit. He offered us positions as floor nurses. When I insisted that we had much more to offer, he quite impolitely asked us to leave.
Balakot is about two hours from Mansehra. There is no building left standing there. It looks like hell on earth. We chose not to stay there, especially because after dark the chances of a vehicle being looted by desperate locals are quite high.
We received an offer by PIMA (Pakistan Islamic Medical Association) to man their field hospital in Muzaffarabad. I reached there on Tuesday morning. There was a sea of tents in that city. The medical outfits were manned by a variety of people, from house officers and medical students, to high school students. The field hospital we went to was in dire need of a surgeon.
We finally met up with a group from George Washington University. We helped set up a field hospital about 32 kms from the LoC. Over the next four days, we saw about 1500 patients. Those suffering from major abdominal/thoracic injuries are now dead. What we saw were people with heavily infected wounds and many with open fractures. I lost count of the number of amputations that were needed. We also saw patients with open skull fractures, ruptured bladders and so on.
The army arrived the day after we did and set up a helipad and a unit next to us. We were able to evacuate about 40-50 patients each day after stabilizing them. Unfortunately, I knew what awaited them in Islamabad. When we left the place we left a fully functioning hospital to some doctors from Dow Medical University in Karachi. Then a surgeon will arrive from the US. Teams from Canada, Belgium and Australia have since arrived and set up in-patient facilities close to our hospital.
The US choppers are flying non-stop. Hats off to them. No nonsense. Efficient. Courteous. They evacuated our most critical patients. The Aga Khan Foundation has acquired Swiss helicopters and were also working in a similar fashion. There were about 300 Pakistan Army soldiers doing nothing. In my view, they should have been sending out teams with tents and supplies to find the countless in the mountains who are unable to make it down. Instead, there are grand plans to make tent cities, where people are expected to come down and settle. This will not work. The average trek to these mountain villages is four days one way.
The best thing a doctor can do is to go there. Find a week or ten days. Go to Garhi Dupatta. Rough it out. Do some wound care. Deliver a few babies. Treat some infections. Just do it. Do it now. The contact person is Farzad Anjum. He is a cardiac surgeon from George Washington University.
NAUMAN JAHANGIR,
Las Vegas, NV, US
THIS refers to Ms Zubeida Mustafa’s article Age of tabloid television (Oct 26). She appreciated the TV channels’ role where appreciation was due but also pointed towards their bias towards those who lay claim to religious knowledge.
Only in the recent past, my bad luck drove me to view a programme being run by a private TV. Some callers — nine out of 10 times a weeping woman — would make a call to the compere. The caller would discuss with him details of her earthly problems — economic, social, personal, familial, and at times educational — and would seek heavenly solutions.
The host would put the question to some invisible man — a man who can only be heard but seldom seen — to suggest a solution to the caller’s problem(s).
A girl from Karachi rang the compere to say she had not received her result-card for the intermediate examinations. She feared she might fail to get admission to a medical college as time was running out.
The voice suggested that she should offer two “rakat” prayers and her result card would soon be delivered to her. Another caller, again a woman, wanted to know whether her brother should proceed to Dubai or might he drive a taxi in Pakistan. She was asked to prevent her brother from going abroad. And so on and so forth.
On introspection, one realizes that not even a single problem asked in the programme deserved to be answered by a man who claimed to possess religious knowledge. Had our country been a bit more developed on the human rights index, these problems would have ended up with institutions related to emotional counselling, business consultancy, health awareness, honest marriage bureaus etc.
Sadly, this is not the case with us. Since 1949, our exploitation continues in the name of religion. Now some private TV channels too have lined up to facilitate such exploitation, more particularly of women.
Prior to the quake, all assumed that the emergence of private TV channels was just the thing Pakistan needed. The way these channels have had the disaster interpreted by quasi-religious scholars and instilled maximum fear into the nations psyche compels many, however, to look back into time when there was no TV in Pakistan as an ideal time.
Part of the problem lies also in the fact that science cannot predict or fully explain quakes; comes in religion, therefore, to interpret such events quake as divine wrath. It is here the private channels failed - instead of explaining the observable world scientifically, they succumbed to abstruse explanations.
It is said when the plague hit Europe in the middle of the 14th century, European society started to change its ways in which 14th-century man understood his relationship to the world around him. The age of superstition got a nasty blow. People started to view the world as real and struggled to improve the prospects of life on earth - just think about life expectancy in today’s Europe. Even then, it took Europe hundreds of years to reconcile itself with science.
It might be admitted that in the wake of the recent tragedy, private TV channels were really, really very energetic in covering it but, on balance, it might be questioned whether their endeavours made the people of Pakistan more aware of disasters or safer than before.
EFTIQAR HAIDER
Islamabad
THE president’s call for a National Volunteer Movement (NVM) for the reconstruction phase represents a good move to keep the nation involved in reconstruction and rehabilitation of the affected people and rebuilding destroyed houses, villages, towns, cities, roads, schools, colleges, hospitals, etc. It is an enormous task which requires financial resources and demands sacrifices from the people over a sustained period of five to 10 years and even more if the response of the international community falls short of the requirements.
The attitude of the political parties, however, is likely to come in the way of speedy realization of the VNM concept. The opposition is fairly or unfairly criticizing the government and the army on their response to the catastrophe of Oct 8. But many of us can appreciate the movement of two divisions from peace-time locations, 300 kilometres away, in aid of civil power within 48 hours as a commendable achievement.
Based on my experience of serving in AJK and mainly dealing with organizations like National Guards and Civil Defence which comprise locals and people serving in government departments, the government/army should activate the Janbaz force. They should be authorized to enlist additional 100 per cent reserve manpower. Funds should be earmarked for this activation. The National Guards sector, Muzaffarabad, should be organized to effectively assist in reconstruction efforts. Resources available in Kotli, Mirpur, Bimber and Mangla can be employed for relief work.
The AJK government should mobilize the civil defence organization along with its additional reserves trained in the education department. This reserve force comprises drill instructors in schools and directors of physical education in colleges. This force is about 4,000 to 5000, both men and women, organized in conventional companies.
The AJK government and leadership should appeal to those working in areas other than the AJK to return to their respective areas to undertake reconstruction on a self-help basis, with the help of the government. In normal circumstances, even in the absence of menfolk, the family left behind comprises hardy and robust people capable of surviving in harsh winters and working to sustain a livelihood. They work in fields, graze animals, fetch water from distant streams, store fodder for animals and look after other household affairs. We can consider involving this large reservoir of manpower in the rebuilding process.
The development of infrastructure in villages, towns, and cities depending on the availability of financial resources/ other assistance should be undertaken by organizations created under the directives of President Musharraf to deal with the subject.
BRIG (retd) MUHAMMAD JAMIL QUDRAT WARSI
Lahore
IT has been interesting to read different views on the Oct 8 earthquake. Mr Muhammad Ali Siddiqi in his “Where reason and religion clash” (Oct. 20) writes that such disasters and even minor tragedies in life are incomprehensible. Even science fails to provide an exact explanation of such tragedies because “science itself is unscientific”.
But Mr Omar R. Quraishi writes in “Science, faith and the quake” (Oct. 28) that “there should be no departure from a scientific and rational understanding of the disaster.”
In both the articles, a clash of science or reason and religion has been highlighted. What such exclusivist thinking tends to overlook is the essential unity of experience that Islam presents to its followers.
That a tragedy may be explained in terms of science does nothing to change its nature as tragedy — as a reminder that human life is fragile, that the ‘paths of glory lead but to the grave’, that our ambitions, aspirations, desires, to which we tend to devote our lives, can be extinguished by a whiff of the wind or a slight tremor of the earth.
In the Holy Quran, there is constant stress on understanding nature and natural events as ‘ayaats’ (signs) of God. In surah Shu’ara (26), there is a refrain that comes after the story of each prophet, Moses, Noah, Hud, Salih, Lut, and Shu’aib, whose people rejected their message and were destroyed by calamities.
For us too, there is a sign in this earthquake, despite plate tectonics and despite all ‘rational’ explanations. Our unwillingness to listen is a testimony to the truth of the verses of the surah:
‘Verily in this is a Sign: but most of them do not believe’.
FAISAL NAZIR
Karachi
WAPDA’s spokesperson commenting on the news item “Dams planning may be reviewed” (Dawn, Nov 1) has issued a defensive and confused statement for adopting a weak “operation basis earthquake” (OBE) design for the Kalabagh dam. The adoption of this design is in spite of the fact that the Kalabagh dam site is located on a geological fault with weak foundation and, therefore, requires a safe design to withstand a maximum credible earthquake (MCE).
The spokesperson randomly argued that the seismic hazard at Kalabagh was lower than that at Tarbela. Wapda conveniently ignores the fact of very weak foundations at the Kalabagh dam site that pose a serious drawback, apart from the location on a geological fault. The Kalabagh consultants, namely, Prof Simpton and Mr Little, have clearly pointed out in volumes II and XIII of the Kalabagh feasibility report that a concrete structure higher than 160 feet at the KBD site is not feasible due to the weak nature of the bedrock.
This is because it cannot retain hydraulic head in excess of 160 feet. Therefore, a structure higher than 160 feet cannot be built at that site. As such, a comparison of the Kalabagh dam with Tarbela dam becomes irrelevant because the former does not physically exist for anyone to have watched its behaviour under the Oct 8 earthquake for a comparison.
The engineer is required to adopt a very conservative design for safety of a dam; it would cost more to make it safe but that is the safety requirements as internationally recognized and practised. The probable maximum flood (PMF) provision has prevented dam failures throughout the world for which spillways are designed and so is the MCE that prevents dam failure in the event of a severe earthquake. Wapda is incorrect in stating that MCE can occur in 10,000 years. The earthquake return period could be much earlier than that. For safe design of a dam, the selection of earthquake occurrence has to be considered for its return period.
High magnitude earthquakes of more than 7.0 have a return period of 100 to 150 years. The time gap is usually about three to five times the return period. Therefore, an MCE may normally occur between 300 and 750 years anywhere along a fault line (could be at the Kalabagh site) and not at the present site of the Oct 8 epicentre as the epicentral volume of that site is crushed.
It will, therefore, not experience another earthquake of a similar magnitude at the same site for a long time. Moreover, Wapda has again wrongly asserted that no dam is designed in the world for MCE. Wapda’s spokesperson said dams are designed for OBE. There are indications that in most areas earthquakes of the magnitude of MCE are adopted for safety. The maximum MCE is defined as an earthquake that would cause the most severe vibratory ground motion at a site under the currently known tectonic framework.
Kalabagh probably could be one such site and to avoid risk it needs that the design of the dam should be safe for MCE. The MCE has provided a basis for preventing dam failure resulting from seismic events. Wapda is wrong in stating that during the construction of a dam design is always reviewed. How is it possible to change an OBE design to an MCE design during construction?
Kalabagh needs an MCE design to be adopted as safety evolution earthquake (SEE) as Kalabagh lies on geological fault in a high-hazard area with weak foundations that are unable to withstand a 260-foot-high dam structure.
Therefore, the KBD can be damaged even without an earthquake. KBD failure can wipe out all barrages on the Indus in a chain reaction and could prove much more destructive than the present earthquake. Dam failure then becomes like nuclear war. The proposing and approving authorities must be extremely cautious about discharging their responsibilities.
FATEH ULLAH KHAN
Ex-chairman, Irsa
Peshawar
WE all love to criticize the way buses in Karachi use the roads. How come no one says anything about how dirty they are from inside? There is a dire need for increasing the seats for women in the front. There are seats for only seven women, generally, per bus. Compare that to that massive population of women who work, shop, study in universities and colleges and schools. And women also do not have too much space to stand in. Where did the buses for women go?
If it is not possible to cut down on men’s seats, then why can’t we have double-deckers on the roads? They would be cheaper as the fuel charge would be of one vehicle, would cause less pollution, and serve more people and reduce the number of people standing in the buses. Plus, this would generate more revenue since the vehicle would accommodate more people. The bus fares could also be decreased since double the number of passengers of a normal bus may be transported at the same cost.
Buses should also have adequate ventilation. There should be windows instead of the garish decorations and pictures of Indian film stars one sees on our buses. And they need to be painted a decent colour.
Bus stops are not safe places for women to stand unless there are other women present. More than half of the time, the men are sitting in the shed while a woman is standing away from it. The authorities should put a guard at each bus stop to ensure that women are not harassed.
All this may sound ambitious, but if the authorities concerned take notice and do something about it, then it can be done.
MARIAM HUMAYUN
Karachi
I AM a taxpayer and paid Rs67,000 as income tax for the year 2005. Two months ago I applied for the extract of my property in the office of the city survey in Tando Mohammed Khan.
The office attendant there was not willing to give me the property extract. I complained about this to the mukhtiarkar and the deputy district officer of Tando Mohammed Khan. Both did nothing and after two months I was forced to grease the palm of an office attendant to get what was my right.
Hope that someone in a position of authority will read this and take action taken.
MOEZAM ALI KHOWAJA
Tando Mohammed Khan
IT happened once more. An accident on July 5 claimed two more innocent lives in one of Lahore’s posh areas when a mother accompanied by her four children went for a walk in a park situated just across the road from their house. Two of the children were run down by one of two speeding vans. The third child, had his left arm critically injured and has so far undergone a number of surgeries with no substantial improvement in sight and the doctors have now recommended a major operation.
The eldest daughter, a college student, also had her right leg badly fractured and joints relocated with the result that her leg is still wrapped in heavy plaster. The mother survived and received only minor injuries.
The incident has traumatized the entire family. The unfortunate mother is a teacher in a government high school while the father is a Wapda employee and it is hardly possible for the two of them to jointly bear the expenses for the treatment of their surviving children.
This is the story of one family. It goes without saying that hundreds of families are faced with similar situations.
Kite-flying has become another nightmare, for pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists, and it has also caused immense financial losses to the national exchequer. The malaise has steeply spread over the years under state patronage. The chemically treated string used in kite-flying has so far claimed many innocent lives in Lahore alone.
What is needed is to enforce the already prevalent laws and to evolve a mechanism to get out of this vicious trap of lawlessness.
SHAHID SHAFI
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