| February 5, 2006 | Sunday | Muharram 6, 1427 |
City mourns the dead
ONCE again sugar prices are in the news, as indeed is its shortage. And of the many stories that are in newspapers and on television channels let’s pick this one to begin with. An English daily has reported: “Sugar buyers facing humiliation at utility stores”. The question that one needs to ask is this: why are they willing to face humiliation and undergo this awful experience to buy sugar at exhorbitant prices? Why can’t they exercise restraint, and demonstrate what we theorise about and call consumer resistance?
The reason why there is no consumer resistance is that nobody (organizations and individuals) takes this concept seriously. It is regarded as a sign of weakness and vulnerability if one is unable to buy something even at high prices. That is the kind of people we are, complained one housewife, who said that she was shocked to see the way in which people were buying not just sugar, but everything that is otherwise priced high.
The above mentioned story relates to Islamabad and it has been reported that the women were humiliated by the male salesmen at the special counters of the Utility Stores in the twin cities. I would like to believe that this could happen anywhere in the country. Consumers have shown no resistance, even for a day, when it comes to this food item called sugar. Keep in mind the fact that excessive sugar is a cause of diabetes and other ailments in this society. Sugar is, of course, related or rather integral to our culture and lifestyle. But like other excesses that we are prone to, when it comes to sugar we do not know when to stop consuming it. Everybody including diabetics, overdo sugar, and use the funniest explanations and weakest excuses. They cheat themselves, and they cheat others. But sugar they must consume. Is it because their lives are so bitter and so sour that they desire this sweetness? I do not know, but I wonder.
Have you not wondered that all the organizations and their articulate men and women who espouse a variety of urgent and not so urgent issues, have so far not said a word on the need for the public to demonstrate some degree of restraint in the use of sugar? It is absolutely certain that were the people to curtail their consumption of sugar, for a reasonable period, the prices would not have risen to such an extent.
On this subject, I heard some colleagues referring to the context that as a people we consume tea in very large quantities. We do this in the home, at office, and as part of our lifestyle. Whether the occasion is festive or otherwise tea and coffee with sugar is compulsory, almost. And most people overdo the sugar they use in each cup. The sweeter the better, underlines one colleague who says that he does not care about the medical consequences, at this age of 35, and that he must have excessively sweet tea. And he does take about six to eight cups of tea daily. The purpose of saying this is not to embarrass him, but only to try and reflect the problem that I am referring to — the nation-wide passion for consuming sugar.
Have you not seen the way in which we consume not just confectionary items, but also sweetmeat (traditional halwa) and how popular cakes have become, on occasions like Eid? Have you not seen the way in which sherbets and soft drinks are consumed in summer? Have you not taken into account the disturbing views from medical circles that diabetes is growing, and causing other ailments in all economic classes in society? And in all age groups of men and women visa vis sugar is worrying. But why is there this silence when it comes to sugar prices, and shortages? No one is saying that as long as the prices are high and not easily available we will even stop consuming it, if we can. Perhaps only children need it for nutrition. Surely, adults can and need to show moderation, observed one Karachiite, who said that he was always amazed to see the way in which sweetened lassi was consumed. The sweeter the lassi, the better, says another Karachiite and says that he will buy sugar at any price!
From the look of things today it seems that the sugar shortage will continue for now. What that time zone can be is hard to predict. The production of sugar within the country, for a variety of reasons, is not sufficient to meet the demand of the people. So the gap between supply and demand has grown. This is neither the first time nor the last when this has happened. One may recall the days of President General Mohammad Ayub Khan’s government in the year 1968 when the price of sugar by 25 paisa became a political issue and created problems for the Ayub government. One cannot recall another time when a sugar shortage or price rise had a nationwide impact. That’s the way in which the times have changed.
But some things have not changed. Our love for sugar has not changed; in fact it has grown. It would be interesting to know what the consumption of sugar is when the Utility Stores have been unable to meet consumer demand, and in fact have also raised prices by Rs4 per kg. It may also be mentioned here that the Federal Minister for Production and Special Initiatives Jehangir Khan Tareen has said that the rise in sugar prices was caused by the increase in prices in the international market. It is also said that the sugar mills in the country are suffering financial losses due to the high cost of sugar cane and low sugar recovery. Sales Tax appears to be another reason for low production.
Thus, while we do not want Indian cinema, sugar from India is welcomed. Reports indicate that 50,000-ton sugar is likely to be imported from India. But it seems that the price of the commodity will still not be on the lower side. There is a freight factor to it, depending on whether the sugar comes via land or sea.
I have fears that the days of cheap sugar (relatively speaking) are over. And the people (ignorant or not) have no fears about what over consumption of sugar is doing to their health. And one is certain that no attempts will be made even by the non-government organizations to make the consumer aware of the need to reduce sugar intake when its prices shoot beyond clasp.
TWO train disasters within a span of six days and both involving top-of-the-line Lahore-bound trains, would you believe it? The six dead in last Sunday’s Rawalpindi-Lahore express, and the woman passenger killed in yesterday’s Karachi-Lahore Karakoram Express, all belonged to the city. If the state minister for railways is to be believed, the next logical question that needs to be asked is: why are the saboteurs targeting non-stop trains to Lahore?
Confusion surrounds the whole blame game. Within minutes of the Sunday crash the railway minister called it an act of sabotage, only to be contradicted by the interior ministry and later by the police. A full inquiry report is not expected until Wednesday, and now we have another derailment which the railway minister has again termed as sabotage. There also existed confusion as to who exactly was responsible for the safety of the rail tracks. The latest from the interior ministry is that it’s not the railways but the provincial government and the law enforcement agencies under its control.
If this is true, then the chief minister should not have dashed to Islamabad yesterday to decide, in tandem with the president, the prime minister and the PML president, as to who all should be the ruling party’s candidates for the forthcoming Senate elections. Instead, Mr Elahi should have stayed back in Lahore and pulled the strings where these needed to be pulled. This was the least the CM should have done if he could not personally make it to the site of the disaster in the southern part of the province.
Reports emanating earlier from the Sheikh Zayed Hospital, where the seriously injured in the Sunday crash were brought, spoke of apathy on the part of the railway and provincial authorities, with the patients’ families complaining of neglect. The compensation announced by the PR for the families of the dead and the injured, too, has not materialized so far.
As for Pakistan Railway, it seems those sitting in the headquarters are more concerned with auctioning off or leasing out precious railway land to private parties than doing something meaningful for streamlining the rail service, the hand that actually feeds them. First, the railways lost its cargo to more competitive and better organized road transport services; now its passenger base is also shrinking. The last thing it needs is one major disaster after another. The list is simply inexcusable in recent months: derailments have become a routine, though this is more so with the goods trains than those carrying passengers.
The last big disaster took place in July last year, when three trains collided near Ghotki, leaving 130 dead. But this is not about numbers. Ask the families of those who have lost their near and dear ones in the latest crashes and they will tell you how utterly inconsequential it is for them that only six people died in the Sunday crash and one in yesterday’s. Detailed inquiries need to be conducted into what might have been the causes of these crashes. If the railway authorities or staff are found lacking in the performance of their duties, it’s time a few heads rolled. A railway minister elsewhere in the world would have resigned twice over by now.
JUST when will the butchering of trees stop in this city? Lahore this week was poorer by at least thirty more silent sentinels of its colonial past that stood guard over The Mall outside the Gymkhana Club. The traffic engineering department said it had to sacrifice the old trees at the altar of its fit of frenzy, namely, that of widening the road and carving out a service lane for the club.
On the other hand, the Parks and Horticulture Authority, which can make some difference to the degrading environment by planting more trees that belong to this soil, has decided to plant the fancy-looking imported varieties. Experts say there is an inherent danger in doing this. While the imported plants and trees may beautify some of the city roads and parks, they are not likely to arrest the environmental damage being caused by the uprooting of the indigenous ones. Cognizant of the fact, a number of schoolchildren held a demonstration outside the Governor’s House on Friday to demand an end to the tree-felling spree.
This was indeed a sad week for Lahore in more ways than one.
THE People’s Lawyers’ Forum in a meeting held this week demanded that the government should end what it called the military action in Balochistan. The government, however, says that no military action is being carried out in that province. Instead, it is the Frontier Constabulary, entrusted with the task of weeding out lawless elements that is taking action against those who blow up railways tracks, gas installations and target other vital national infrastructure. The PPP and the HRCP-wallahs endorsed the demand made by the lawyers, and marched in protest at the Lahore High Court.
Earlier, the meeting also called for evolving, as opposed to forcing, a consensus —- indeed, a contradiction in terms —- on the smaller provinces over the construction of big dams. There are strong sections of opinion in Punjab, comprising environmentalists, politicians and agriculturists that are opposed to the construction of the Kalabagh dam under the existing circumstances. Some of those who in the past have advocated the dam are now also opposed to it, saying the backtracking on the construction of a left-bank canal defeats the very purpose.
THE Punjab University has finally launched an MSc programme in tourism. This is good news and it should help train tourist-friendly professionals, a cadre that is woefully lacking in all respects even though a host of tourism services have existed here for a long time. Other countries in the region have benefited from the presence of trained professionals in the field.
One hopes that the new department will not fall victim to the syndrome of outdated mode of instruction that prevails in many other disciplines. Students enrolled in a master’s programme who elect tourism as their major must also be offered internships in cooperation with the existing businesses catering to the sector’s needs. Field trips are also a necessity and should be given the emphasis they deserve. —OBSERVER