| April 9, 2006 | Sunday | Rabi-ul-Awwal 10, 1427 |
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Wastage or blessing?
Richmond Crawford Hospital
Lyari Expressway project
Wapda engineers
‘One-way traffic’
Life term or death penalty?
Telephone bill delays
Supremacy of civilian rule
‘Sugar cartel’s price-fixing’
Question for ICAP
IT is indeed encouraging news to hear that the “ministry of water and power has been asked to pinpoint power plants where gas is being consumed at low thermal efficiencies” and the Wapda chairman has agreed, subject to allocation of alternative fuels, on projects from which gas will be diverted (news item, April 1).
We need to accelerate our energy conservation effort to save our precious gas as efficient combined cycle power plants are 50 per cent more efficient than conventional steam power stations which are killing our industrial growth due to high power tariff. All power stations need to be efficient, specially those based on our scarce clean gas.
When the government had decided to supply precious gas to inefficient power stations like the KESC’s Bin Qasim plant, there was a hue and cry since such a decision should have been taken only if these plants were being converted to combined cycle design. It is unfortunate that Nepra has approved a new gas-based combined cycle 94 MW power plant at Karachi with only 44 per cent design efficiency (actual efficiency will be even lower).
The requirement of high thermal efficiency should also be strictly applied to industrial power generation. It is definitely not in the interest of the country to install a large number of power plants with precious gas and operating at low efficiency (only 35 per cent average).
Both gas companies (SNGPL and SSGC) need to get clear instructions to work towards energy conservation. They need to educate and encourage energy conservation in industry and large commercial buildings with central airconditioning, since the cost of energy will continue to spiral and only efficient processes will enable economic survival. Gas companies can easily conduct energy audits to lead the way and show to industries that saving gas and reducing costs will create a win-win situation.
AINUL ABEDIN
Karachi
ENGINEER Fateh Ullah Khan, former chairman of Irsa, while dilating on “Irsa’s powers and duties” (March 29), has discussed each clause of the Water Accord. The management and storing of water to avoid wastage is dealt with under Clause 14 of the accord. However, the ‘wastage’ envisaged in the clause, in my opinion, is not analogous to seasonal discharge in the ocean. According to the dictionary, wastage denotes loss by use, decay, erosion, or leakage or through wastefulness. Thus in all such cases there is an element of abuse and mismanagement of resources by the users.
In the case of water going into the sea, no such man-made intrusion is present; rather it is in accord with the ecological symmetry created by nature for the greater good of humanity and, therefore, cannot be termed as wastage.
Constant flows of water towards the sea have myriad environmental and social advantages. The perennial flow increases sub-soil water in sanitized form that is used for drinking as well as for irrigation. Discontinuance or reduction of flow forces the cultivator to depend on tubewells, which reduce the underground water level. Such a situation has given rise to widespread increase of various water-borne diseases, especially hepatitis B and C in the countryside of Sindh where people have no option but to use unhygienic water.
The perennial flow brings along every year huge deposits of alluvial soil from the mountains, enhancing the fertility of lands. It also irrigates river forests and mangroves which are the lungs of the environment as well as the habitat of various species of animals and birds.
The menace of wastage that confronts us is actually man-made, mainly on account of lack of awareness and mismanagement in water distribution/proper utilization methods. In our system there is about 40 per cent water wastage. However, for a country bestowed with one of the great water systems of the world, this threat is surmountable if all canals and watercourses are adequately lined and the antediluvian agriculture system is replaced by the sprinkler system of irrigation as has been successfully employed by various water-starved Middle East countries.
ALTAMASH MANZOOR
H. KURESHI Karachi
APROPOS of H. A. Hajis reminiscences of Karachi (April 3) and his recollections of the Richmond Crawford Hospital, I too have very good memories of this great veterinary institution, a landmark of Karachi. Tremendous help was rendered to ailing animals, particularly pet dogs, by the chief superintendent, Dr Syed Wisaq-ul Hassan Rizvi.
He introduced distemper vaccines that saved the lives of umpteen dogs in Karachi which he imported through the courtesy of his friend, Kassimalibhai. He volunteered in performing surgery in tying the fallopian tubes of bitches, free of cost, to prevent the breeding of stray dogs and rabies. Dr Rizvi reigned over Richmond Crawford for 12 years, between 1952 and up to his death in the residency of the premises in 1964.
My dog was treated at Richmond Crawford during the tenure of Dr Rizvi. When Dr Rizvi succumbed to a heart attack on Nov 12, 1964, my mother made the observation that now that Dr Rizvi was dead, our dog, would follow him. The dog fell grievously ill in January 1965. No one could diagnose Jack’s malady. He passed away in his sleep on March 24, 1965.
In the early 90s, I was to have another contact with the Richmond Crawford Hospital but it in trying circumstances. This was during the era of Jam Sadiq Ali, when builders were out to grab the prized property on M. A. Jinnah Road.
A spirited, strong, legal case and defence against this acquisition was put up by Lady Nanette Constantine, wife of Sir George Constantine, who was president of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. She was dedicated to animals. Lady Constantine was threatened by goons who, posing as thieves, ransacked her apartment. The police refused to investigate her complaint.
Lady Constantine’s car was hit by a water truck in a deliberate, put-up accident while she was going from her apartment in Bath Island for her regular evening of tennis at the Karachi Club. A lawyer friend spoke to Jam Sadiq Ali. The ensuing public outcry and a statement from President Ghulam Ishaque Khan in defence and support of Lady Constantine compelled Jam Sadiq Ali to see reason. He rescinded his allotment order for the Richmond Crawford Hospital.
MOHAMMED AZIZ HAJI
DOSSA Karachi
THIS is with reference to Ms Zubeida Mustafa’s article ‘Lyari Expressway project’ (March 10). She has clearly pointed out how the land mafia has made a strong showing at the resettlement sites. Land grabbers have now entirely occupied the resettlement schemes of the project.
They offer plots of all kinds and on all locations and as many as one wants, ranging from Rs150,000 to Rs400,000 per 80 square yards. The paperwork will be ‘pucca’ by paying an extra Rs5,000 for that.
I have noticed that real estate agents have established small offices in the surrounding areas which are offering plots in the resettlement site. They showed me documents and sale deeds, which explained the entire process. They offered me countless plots in any sector of the resettlement. They also ensured me of all help in the purchase of a plot.
Resettlement sites are really emerging as perfect model townships with most of the basic infrastructure, but they are being developed for those who want to purchase plots now and resell them after 20 or 25 years at a big profit margin. This is yet another example of land speculation.
I appeal to President Gen Pervez Musharraf that work on the Lyari Expressway should be suspended and a high-level inquiry ordered to take proper action on. Otherwise, like many other previous schemes, this too will become another ugly spot on Karachi’s face.
RIZWAN UL HAQ
Karachi
WE, the senior engineers in the power wing of Wapda, had joined the organization in 1977/78, but it is regretted that after a lapse of 29 years of continuous service, we still have not been promoted to the next grade. Thus senior engineers are working without any incentive as they had long ago reached the end of their pay-scales and are unable to avail of annual increments.
This state of affairs is quite disappointing and disheartening, which is affecting the performance and output of senior engineers. In the past, there was the practice of time-scale promotions of engineers who could not be promoted due to shortage of higher posts. After a certain period in one scale, they were given promotion to the next higher pay-scale. In this way they were given at least some monetary benefits.
The practice of time-scale promotion has been stopped in Wapda and now promotions are also very slow. Currently, senior engineers are on the verge of retirement but even then they are not being given the next pay-scale. Now five per cent upgradation of senior engineers is in vogue but it has no significance because in this way only a negligible number of engineers find get promoted every year. Keeping in view this situation, the existing quota of five per cent may be reviewed to at least 50 per cent or be completely withdrawn and instead time-scale promotion of engineers in the power wing may be restarted to provide relief to the affected engineers and their families.
RAJA HASEEB AHMAD
Hyderabad
IN his column ‘Oneoway traffic’ (April 1), Mr Irfan Husain has not accounted for the freedom enjoyed by Christian missionaries proselytising in Pakistan since 1947 and the resultant four to five million converts, none of whom have been sentenced to death.
He has also quoted Mr Habib Johnson, an American reader: “A few months ago, I wrote to you about my plight having converted back to Christianity after my family embraced Islam. As an African American I wrote about the problems I faced from mostly Muslims of Asian origin in my mosque area (most of them Pakistani) who made life hell for me....
“Every day I read newspapers in Muslim countries shamelessly tom-tomming the conversion of Christians (especially whites) to Islam...”
One is so sorry he had such painful experiences. Unfortunately not all Muslims are enlightened, but if he is willing to reconsider his decision, he can look at the examples of the famous sportsmen Muhammad Ali and Karim Abdul Jabbar who remain steadfast even after many decades.
This in besides other well-known people like Martin Lings, Robert Crane (president Nixon’s adviser), Frithjoff Schuon, Burckhardt, Gai Eaton, Maurice Bucaille, Gary Smith (former Canadian priest), Yusuf Islam, Antonio Inoki (erstwhile Japanese wrestler and legislator) and others not so famous.
Christians have lots of churches in Pakistan also and have been active in nearly all Muslim countries. As a student in the US I had known an American family that had spent many years in Indonesia doing missionary work. From my Indonesian colleagues I learned that their president Gen Suharto had a Christian wife who was spearheading the campaign to spread her religion, while a padre friend among them told me how his grandmother was still a Muslim but his father had switched to Christianity.
The faithful naturally feel happy when they hear of anyone’s conversion to Islam, particularly of the white people. This is partly because a clash of civilizations, if any, will be between them and also because the whites have formerly ruled over them in many countries. Regrettably, quite a few Muslims in the US used to act superior to the blacks in defiance of Islam’s maximum emphasis upon the equality of races, and Rev. Jesse Jackson rightly lambasted them by saying that after 9/11 the Muslims have realised they are not white but black.
Converts invariably have to face trials. Brother Habib Johnson should not go by the behaviour of ignorant practitioners but by the life and teachings of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). On performing Haj, Malcolm X had found the real beauty and universalism of Islam’s message, joined its mainstream and overcome his hatred of the whites.
Finally, quotes from two Americans’ letters ignored by Mr Husain may provide another perspective. In the first. Prof. Randall Freeman cites the conversion of a former beauty queen Jennifer McKinley, who met somebody from Pakistan on the Internet, started learning about Islam and also performed the Haj. Prof Freeman is a professor of theology and himself decided to embrace Islam after studying it and requested all Muslims, particularly from Pakistan, to send him more material on the faith.
Dr James L. Holly, a physician from Texas, had written to Dawn after 9/11: “I know dozens of Pakistanis. And, judged by the content of their character, they are men and women, boys and girls of faith, peace, kindness, compassion and integrity .... They love their families, their parents... adore their children .... They are reliable and excellent in their profession .....
A READER
Karachi
A PERSON sentenced to a life term in prison perhaps suffers more than one sentenced to death and executed.
Some of the sufferings a ‘lifer’ endures are as follows:
He is deprived of his liberty for at least 15 years.
He is locked in his cell or barracks an hour before sunset.
He is served poor quality of food.
He can have only one interview a fortnight with his family and friends.
He has to undergo labour for eight hours a day.
Faces ill-treatment from staff if he does not bribe them.
Must pay to get the jail superintendent’s special remission of 30 days per year.
Faces mental depression for being away from his family.
Falls prey to forced monthly ‘bhatta’ (Sindh jails only). Non-payment exposes him to severe constraints and even denial of due facilities.
To cope with the oppressive atmosphere of the jail, many prisoners sentenced for life resort to taking intoxicants, easily available in jails.
Seeing all this, doesn’t it appear that a ‘lifer’s, life is worse than death? Then why not award a life sentence in place of the death penalty? The topic needs dicsussion. The subject of jails comes into the limelight only in the event of a riots or a prison escape.
SH. G. MURTAZA
(retired superintendent of jails, Balochistan)
Karachi
THE paradoxical punishment meted out to punctual payers of telephone bills was highlighted by me earlier in a letter (March 27, 2002). The chief responsibility is of the National Bank of Pakistan, Karachi University Branch, to receive the money and forward proof of payment to the NTC headquarters. What actually happens is that the staff does so at its leisure. The result is that the amount paid is tacked as ‘arrears’ on the next bill, taking no cognizance of the fact that the bill had been paid much earlier than the due date as the bank stamp would clearly show.
The harassed payer has to take his bill for correction every month to the branch manager as penalty for paying on time. In the NBP, Karachi University branch, this is a normal anti-public practice.
I appeal to the competent authorities — NAB, the banking ombudsman, the Sindh High Court, the president’s secretariat of the NBP head office — to take notice of this practice. Any inquiry into such matters should also be made public
Prof S.M. WASTI
Karachi
IT is heartening to know that the US wants civilian rule and civilian control of the military in Pakistan. Everyone who wants the welfare and prosperity of Pakistan believes that only by establishing real democracy and supremacy of civilian rule can Pakistans image be improved and become a role model for other Muslim countries.
It is a known fact that the generals in Pakistan were able to prolong their rule due to the support of the US administration, negating its cherished values of liberty, freedom and democracy. The US will render a great service if it can convince that generals that the spirit of real democracy is people-centred, where people are the ultimate sovereign.
S. T. HUSSAIN
Lahore
YOUR editorial ‘Sugar cartel’s price-fixing’ (April 4) when read in conjunction with the news item ‘Sugar cartel likely to trigger new crisis’ appearing on March 31 the fact emerges that sugar mill owners have pocketed a profit of Rs40 billion since the start of the crushing season in November 2005, and could earn another Rs50 to 60 billion during the June-November period.
In spite of such a huge profit, the government has fixed the ex-factory price at Rs33.35 (Dawn, April 2), as against Rs20 prevailing earlier.
This is daylight robbery by the sugar mill owners. As your editorial says, most of the sugar mills are owned by people who hold important positions in the government and the ruling party, including the Punjab chief minister, the president of the PML-Q and ministers for commerce and industries. Therefore, it is no wonder that the NAB investigation was stopped by the government.
When the king’s men rob, and the king looks the other way and there is no justice, to whom should the poor complain? Who would listen? It may be appropriate to reproduce here the following statement of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him), which he made while deciding the case of a noble woman who had committed theft: “Verily those who were before you were destroyed because when a noble man from among them committed theft, they passed no sentence on him. By Allah, had Fatima, the daughter of Muhammad, committed theft, I would have cut off her hand.” ABDUL SAMAD KHAN
Karachi
THIS is with reference to Mr Jawed Shakeel’s letter ‘Question for ICAP’ (March 26) on the subject of exemptions and the names of certain modules. We would like to inform Mr Shakeel that there are six modules in ICAP’s examination structure and not four as stated in his letter.
After passing these six modules, the students are awarded certificates for passing chartered accountants examinations.
The students who pass four modules (modules A to D) are awarded the passing certificate of intermediate.
As regards Mr Shakeel’s question on exemptions, we wish to inform him that in the past the institute, based on evaluations of syllabi, had allowed certain exemptions to students who had passed examinations of certain specified accounting institutions. In June 2002, the ICAP revised its syllabi in accordance with the recommendations of IFAC under International Education Standards and consequently withdrew exemptions to students of those foreign accounting institutions who syllabi did not match the ICAP’s.
F.H. SAIFEE
Secretary, Institute of Chartered Accountants of
Pakistan, Karachi
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