| April 7, 2006 | Friday | Rabi-ul-Awwal 8, 1427 |
To send a letter to the Editor
Click here
Montessori system
Kalabagh dam: the 1986 episode
Pakistan Steel privatization
Indian democracy
Good aspects of governance
Waste disposal
Illegal workers
Bajaur attack
VIP movements
Remembering earthquake victims
No possession orders
New census required
THIS refers to Mr Mir Ali’s letter “Alternative energy source” (March 28) in response to an earlier letter, “Expensive wind energy projects”.
Looking at Pakistan from an American perspective, one can understand Mr Mir Ali’s response, but the local problems in employment opportunities and industrial activities as personally studied during the last 44 years (mostly in Karachi) forces one to be more considerate in creating a local environment for growth.
It is ‘oversimplistic’ to state that energy generation from coal will result in “more deaths and disease from pollution”. Our Thar coal is an immense source of energy and is located in the country’s most remote and deprived area. Not only will coal (with acceptable technology) provide a cheaper source of energy but this whole area will develop when power plants are based here.
Mr Ali should travel to Thar to see the present conditions and immense opportunities coal-based power plants will bring to that part of Pakistan. Mr Ali should also know that all industrialised countries, including the US, the UK and most of Europe, have developed ‘cheap’ power from coal-based power plants. Even today the US, China and India derive maximum benefits from coal, so asking Pakistan to forgo this cheaper source of energy is unfair and unrealistic.
Again, Mr Ali is not aware of local conditions when he states that “to suggest conservation is to ask a man dying of hunger to eat less”. Pakistan’s industries are very wasteful and if Mr Ali would have only compared typical industrial energy consumptions with efficient processes followed in most countries, he would have no difficulty in noticing that we consume considerable extra energy in producing cement, sugar, textile finishing, chemicals, etc., and there is a very wide scope for energy conservation even in power plants installed in 10 years. It is far cheaper to conserve energy than to produce (and waste) the same quantum of energy and this is applicable more so in our case.
Mr Ali’s contention that the writer is “misinformed” about wind energy projects based on entire the installation being imported is again not based on correct knowledge of local expertise. He is definitely off the mark if he thinks that Pakistan can manufacture even propeller blades (which have to be of composite material in sizes being considered). We have been trying to locally manufacture eight-foot diametre propeller fans for cooling towers in the last four decades and have not succeeded (almost all such fans are imported even today) and Mr Ali thinks he can get fans of 30-ft diametre locally manufactured! Yes, ‘toy’ wind energy projects of a few hundred watts are possible but proper wind farms, based on 50 MW capacity, as proposed by AEDB, will definitely be totally imported, with no local expertise of even maintaining them.
Regarding cost of power, it is very relevant to Pakistan’s industrial growth and we will not be able to compete in the ‘free market environment’ if we produce power at a levellised average of 8.4 cents per kWH. (This is the average cost over 25 years, so it is not Mr Ali’s reference “to spread the cost over 20 to 30 years” to reduce the impact is not clear).
Pakistan needs power at a realistic cost to survive. It is naive to suggest that we can afford 8.4 cents (equivalent to Rs5.04) per kWH as cost of generation and then add 30 per cent transmission and distribution losses (the KESC at present has 40 per cent T & D losses). By the time margin for profit is added, we will be paying an average of Rs8 per kWH (against the present Rs5.50 for the industrial sector) and this tariff is certainly going to shut down many industries — another conspiracy is to make Pakistan wholly dependent on imports, like what they did to Argentina 10 years back.
AINUL ABEDIN
Karachi
LIVING abroad most of my life and then settling here in Pakistan after marriage, I have come across some hard facts of life. But the facts I learned about Montessoris were really mind-blowing for me.
I believe my first son was learning to crawl when almost half of the people I knew asked me as to which Montessori he was going. It was understood that I had admitted him to or at least registered him with a Montessori. And I almost gave them a heart attack when I said: “Well, I really haven’t thought about it.”
Well, obviously so many questions created a tornado in me and my husband and by the time my son turned two I had taken him to his first Montessori. The outlook was more of a babysitters’ club than an educational institution. Children were being dragged by parents, bribed by teachers, and rushed by ‘masis’.
The principal’s first question was to the point — meaning “ your son is one point what?” It was like “what is your point?” but then I realised her point was the month. So I gave her the bad news that he had crossed one and was now two, which outlisted him right away.
My Montessori hunt was more like a hide-and-seek show, where I was seeking and by the time the question of his age came up I was hiding my face.
The main Montessori interviewing questions were if your child knew how to communicate, ‘talk’. Does he have any allergies and is he the big “P” trained? So you see my son’s first school bag contained diapers rather than books.
We finally came to a school on which both my husband and I had agreed on but cancelled as soon as the principal asked for a fake birth certificate. We realised that by starting his education based on a lie won’t turn him into a doctor.
My son finally joined a Montessori but I still have my regrets. I plan to put my daughter, who is next in line, by the age of three and this time no points. Well, I am ready for another hide-and-seek show. I am amazed how in a Third World country like Pakistan where the literacy rate is only 11 per cent, some children never go to school while others are being registered before they are born.
SHEEZA JAVED IMRAN
Karachi
THIS is with respect to Dr Mubashir Hasan’s letter (March 12) “Kalabagh dam: the 1986 episode” and the rejoinder from Mr Jafarey (April 1).
When overzealous politicians play with the opinions of professionals, viable projects go down the way of Kalabagh. The Tarbela Dam suffered tunnel and stilling basin damage due to operation of tunnel gates against the design criteria.
Dr Mubashir Hasan should know this better than anyone due to his involvement in giving orders for the ‘asymmetrical operation’ of gates.
What Mr Jafarey stated in his rejoinder is not defending an action but a statement of facts. As Dr Hasan himself acknowledged, Mr Kirmani was a well-respected engineer; therefore there should be reasons other than technical for the failure of the projects attributed to him.
The failed projects should be examined, with due consideration given to the involvement of the World Bank. The World Bank is mainly a financial institution and it might have overruled the professional opinion of Mr Kirmani for its own reasons.
No one involved in such forced decisions would like to accept the same, just as Dr Hasan would not like to accept any involvement in the Tarbela episode of 1974.
The Kalabagh dam was originally conceived in 1953 and it remains the most extensively researched project to date. Only time will tell how expensive, in terms of wastage of resources and opportunities, this episode of Kalabagh is going to be. This time there shall be no means of recourse as in the Tarbela episode of 1974.
M. SAEED
Islamabad
THE editorial entitled ‘Pakistan Steel privatization’ (April 3) was balanced and contained some valuable facts.
However, the sentence “in recent years its reputation was affected by several financial scandals and charges of corruption against top management” may create doubts in the minds of the public as you have not referred to the specific pre-Musharraf period in which corrupt managements plundered the mill.
I would beg to differ with your observation that as in other industrial sectors induction of a retired army general did not help matters in the case of PS.
The integrity pact signed with Transparency International and the earning of international accreditations like ISO-17025, 14001, SA-8000, and OHS-18000 speak volumes about the working of Pakistan Steel under Chairman Lt.-Gen Abdul Qayyum (retired).
Besides, how many public sector set-ups would voluntarily offer themselves for international credit rating as Pakistan Steel did and earn A+ rating for the short term and A for the long term?
It is not a question of being a general, a media bigwig, a technocrat or a politician. It is a question of commitment and financial and intellectual honesty.
AZAM JANJUA
Former director, Pakistan Steel Mills
Karachi
JAYA Bachhan, the Indian actress, was the first one to be disqualified from becoming an MP. She was disqualified on the ground that she was holding another office in the UP Film Corporation.
Then came the turn of the president of the Indian National Congress, Sonia Gandhi. She was also holding another office and she took a decision and left her seat which she knows she will win again
Both the ladies were disqualified under Article 102 according to which a person is disqualified if he or she holds another office of profit under the government of India or the government of any state.
The gist of this all is that it doesn’t matter whether one is a well-known actress or the wife of a former PM; the laws are the same for everyone. That is why India is called the largest democracy in the world.
Here in Pakistan we cannot decide whether our president is eligible to hold dual offices. Every day we read in newspapers that the opposition wants restoration of democracy — the very same people who had passed the controversial 17th Amendment in the National Assembly.
USMAN FAYYAZ
Lahore
I DEFINITELY felt nice after reading the article “Emerging profile of India” by Tayyab Siddiqui (April 1) since it brings out some of the good aspects of Indian governance and economy. However, I also feel that India still has a long way to go. And if it really wants to fulfill its aspirations for global leadership, there are some problems which India cannot afford to ignore.
The caste system continues to plague rural India. In the interior of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, UP and other parts of the northern and western belt, caste continues to be a dominant factor in decisions like marriage, education and even survival. Bihar continues to drag down the entire country with its backwardness, anarchy and corruption.
The bane of communalism is there for all to see. Many state governments, such as the Modi government in Gujarat, continue to be hostile to Christians and Muslims. The only thing that has changed is that the hostility is now more muted. Muslims in Gujarat are yet to be fully integrated and free from all fear. Nationalist parties continue to make communal noises when it suits them. We are still far away from embracing the true liberal secularism which is the hallmark of western democracies.
Corruption is still a problem in most government offices although it has been reduced substantially after many government activities have been computerised. In some cases, private organisations have mushroomed during the post-liberalisation era to give competition to government offices.
For instance, today if the government owned BSNL will not give me a phone connection, I will go to the private-owned Airtel or Tata telecom and get a connection, most probably within 24 hours. However, in the rural areas, where government officers are supposed to serve the powerless and down-trodden, incidents of corruption and collusion with the powerful to exploit the down-trodden are still rampant.
In cities like Bangalore, one comes across thousands of people who are in dire straits but, on the other hand, in the same city one sees Mercedes Benz cars and skyscrapers. How long will these extremely poor people suffer in utter poverty? As a result of this inequality, there has been a multifold increase in crime in cities which are the harbingers of the economic growth of India. The poor people, unsatisfied with the welfare expenditure of governments, are taking the law into their own hands in order to spread wealth horizontally. In my opinion, India’s police system and judiciary are not yet equal to the task.
As for law and order, the eastern extreme of the country - the seven sister states of the north-east - is still like a military zone. Governance is still in shreds there. The big players in the media are not keen to highlight these issues, immersed as they are in the narcissism of India’s economic growth.
Perhaps this is a pessimistic picture of Indias growth trajectory, but one cannot understand the countrys emerging profile without taking into account the many issues that can easily drag it down.
STAJU JACOB
Karnataka, India
IN the affluent Karachi residential areas of DHA and Clifton large bins have been erected on open vacant plots with high walls where people are supposed to throw their solid waste.
Twenty-five per cent of the waste escapes through bin openings and spreads around the area. One cannot walk through the street in front of the Bohri Jamaat Khana leading to Moti Masjid without being overcome by stench.
The waste bin in the area is by the side of a park, where children play and people come for a walk. One can also see littered waste around the vacant plot on either side of Khyaban-i-Badar from Hafiz to 26th Street.
One feels ashamed to see persons sneaking out early in the morning from their houses, many built over 1,000 square yards, and throwing the waste on a vacant plot there. These are residences of persons who are educated.
Such handling of waste in the DHA and Clifton is regrettable. The DHA is spending millions of rupees on opening new clubs but has not been able to develop a proper waste collection system. All these solid waste bins should be removed and waste collected from each and every residence.
Throwing of waste outside houses should be considered a crime against society and any resident found indulging in such an act should be fined.
ABDUL HALIM
Karachi
THE Hispanic community in America has taken to the streets in major US cities to demand legal status for 11 million illegal immigrants across America. President Fax of Mexico expressed his concern on the matter with President Bush when the two met in Cancun.
Illegal Pakistan workers dare not voice similar demands due to lack of support. Pakistanis living in the US are facing discrimination.
Nothing has been done to protect the right of Pakistanis living in the US. It is high time our leaders intervened in the matter.
MARIAM KARIM
Karachi
THIS refers to the letter “MMA and protest marches” by Amin M. Lakhani (April 4). The writer says that 13 out of the 18 killed were Pakistani nationals.
These figures are also claimed by western media and some Pakistani officials. The fact is that no one has any proof whether any foreigners were killed in the attack. Without any formal proof, let us not befooled by media rhetoric and only acceptinformationthat is backed by evidence.
ABDUL MALIK
Grenoble, France
IT was sad to learn that a young girl died because she couldn’t reach hospital in time due to the movement of VIPs (April 1).
This was not the first time that someone died after being caught up in a traffic jam caused by VIPs’ movements. The last time the prime minister was in the city, at least four people were said to have breathed their last in ambulances.
Either these VIP movements should be done away with or the VIPs should find some other way to travel.
ABDUL AZIZ KHATTAK
Karachi
IT hasn’t been even a year and the world seems to have forgotten about the worst disaster that hit Pakistan. An earthquake that destroyed most of northern Pakistan seems as if it never occurred.
But the question is what we Pakistanis are doing to keep the issue alive. A few days back I was ashamed when I saw the talk show queen of America, Oprah Winfrey, dedicate an entire lane to the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
The so-called Angel Lane holds several houses for the homeless containing everything from dishwashers, iron stands, microwaves, ovens, fridges, bedsheets, towels to cutlery, doormats, framed photographs of the new homeowners, etc.
The houses have been built by fellow Americans. I think the media should give continuous coverage of the earthquake victims to recharge us. So we too can do more than send just a carton of old clothes.
SHEEZA JAVED IMRAN
Karachi
IN response to an advertisement (May 14, 1996) in a section of the press by a firm of builders and developers that plots are available in Gulshan-i-Surjani, Phase-II, KDA Scheme No. 45, Karachi, we booked two 120 yards plots through the HBL branch, Drigh Colony.
Up to Sept 27, 2002 we had paid a sum of Rs152,000 for each plot (full payment) and received possession order for the plots. But we have not yet been given physical possession of the land. Since then the office and staff of the company have disappeared.
Our efforts in searching for them has been in vain.
The Sindh government is requested to take action against such companies.
ZEENAT FATIMA and JABEEN FATIMA
Karachi
WE are experiencing a number of problems due to lack of correct statistics relating to our population. From shortage of land and housing to the shortage of flour and sugar, there is obvious mismanagement and misallocation of resources.
Without correct population figures all our planning, time and money will go to waste. The government must know the actual number of people residing in an area, their ages and their basic needs before they proceed with further development plans. Without concrete facts and figures, all its planning is doomed to fail.
BABAR RAHIM
Karachi
You can also send letters to the Editor
Just send your message to the following address: letters@dawn.com
Make sure you include your full name, postal address, e-mail address, and in the case of Pakistan your day-time telephone number.