The right spirit

Nerves tend to get frayed during Ramazan. Though residents of the urban jungle are already on edge due to the stress of city life, in the fasting month it takes very little to push Karachians over the edge.

And perhaps nowhere more does this edginess manifest than the roads of the city during the holy month.

In the rush to get home before Iftar (though this issue has been resolved to some extent by the extension of daylight savings time), motorists on Karachi’s roads often pull stunts that would put Formula One drivers to shame. During a time when one is supposed to tame the inner beast, the roads of the city turn into arenas for brinkmanship.

Yet this Ramazan, one has observed a positive change that, if adopted year-round, may well bring a sense of order to Karachi’s monstrous, notoriously unruly traffic. A combination of Community Police, town workers and CDGK volunteers – with an odd traffic policeman thrown in for good measure – have been seen on many of the city’s thoroughfares directing traffic and making sure that motorists stop at red lights and intersections.

Often wielding bamboo sticks, the Community Police personnel can be seen marshalling errant bikers or drivers into line to ensure smooth flow of traffic, while volunteers, who appear to be normal Joes and Janes (the ladies staying off the roads and helping out taking care of the city’s parks) doing their part as well.

One must salute these volunteers as they, in these self-centred times, are taking time out in the month of fasting and literally placing themselves in front of motorists not exactly known for their traffic sense, just to make sure you and I get to our destinations in an orderly fashion.

Part of the city nazim’s volunteer initiative launched this past Independence Day, the volunteers sport ‘city owners’ badges and seem to be doing their job with dedication, often having to deal with abusive, uncouth motorists who stop for nothing.

Though the city government receives a lot of flak – some of it not exactly undeserved – it must be commended for this initiative. Let’s hope this spirit spreads and doesn’t disappear with the sighting of the Shawwal crescent. And by the way … if these individuals can, to some extent, control the city’s wild traffic, what stops our men in white – the much ridiculed traffic cops – from doing the same? A question to ponder.—QAM

The city of the dead

Some weeks ago my brother persuaded me to accompany him to the graves of our parents on the occasion of Shab-i-Bara’at.

Feeling guilty and ashamed for not having gone for eons, I naturally agreed and went along with him making sure that we made it to both the graveyards at Sakhi Hassan and the one adjacent to the Karachi Milk Plant in daylight, or else it would be difficult to trace the graves in the evening.

I left it to my brother to be the guide but unfortunately, on arrival at Sakhi Hassan we lost our bearings and sure enough were unable to trace our father’s grave amidst the jungle of the vast array of concrete as well as mud graves.

Being petrified that the grave had been razed and another built upon it we called our third brother who assured us that the grave was intact as he had earlier visited it.

Feeling relieved and vowing to visit another day we proceeded to our mother’s grave and performed our religious duties.

The very next day I read in the newspaper that a man visiting his relative’s grave at the same Sakhi Hassan graveyard was shocked to see another grave in its place. He reported the matter to the authorities and the grave robbers were apprehended. It so happened that they were charging Rs15,000 to dig up old graves and turn them into new ones.

However, there are a few good examples of how graveyards should be. Wadi-i-Hussain, on the outskirts of the city just 10 minutes’ drive from the Toll Plaza on the Super Highway, is one such cemetery. The entrance and driveway is tree-lined and has a pleasant appearance.

Having visited the cemetery several times where my maternal aunt is buried, I was deeply impressed by the neat rows of graves numbered and arranged in alphabetical order so as to avoid confusion of looking for it even after years.

What’s more, it is the only online graveyard in Pakistan where relatives even residing abroad can log on, enter the name or the number of the grave and the picture will appear so they can offer fateha. The question of grave robbing does not arise because it has graves up to a certain capacity.

Cemeteries or graveyards are sacred and due reverence should be accorded to them. But in a sprawling city like Karachi, graveyards are full to capacity and it is imperative that the powers allocate vast tracts of land to inter the dead.—Syed Ali Anwer

A quick buck

With people trying to make money in any way possible, it should be no surprise that religion and spiritual guidance are also being picked up for commercial purposes. Istikhara is a practice through which people seek guidance by reciting certain verses and asking for direction through dreams.

Like other religious and spiritual practices, this too is a sacred one that is performed for important decisions in one’s life.

Looking around at how confused and paranoid we are becoming as a society, more people are turning to seek guidance through this, as well as through Amils, fortune-tellers, tarot card readers and anyone else who can tell us something about our future.

This gives some a golden opportunity to make a quick buck. Walls are covered with telephone numbers where someone can help you perform istikhara. Advertisements are popping up on flyers and the internet where people ‘guarantee’ answers for all your queries through istikhara.

Meant for life-altering or risky decisions, istikhara is now being promoted for land dispute queries, visa inquires and exam preparation. Marketing gimmicks allow people to believe in such advertisements and hence they allow ‘professionals’ to help them make a decision for a sum which could vary anywhere from hundreds to thousands of rupees.

There are numerous people in our country who are depressed and confused. Professionals guaranteeing solutions make these vulnerable people shift their focus on them instead of continuing to privately pray for the better. The practice is picking up more so because of our hopelessness and resignation towards life.

Marriage proposals and in-laws’ issues can now magically be fixed through these offices and groups who know exactly what problems to highlight in their advertisements so that more and more people are inclined to respond.

Faith and self-assurance are diminishing while dependence and vulnerability are increasing. We are easily convinced that middle-men with powers we don’t have can ‘fix’ things for us – and so begins the cycle of swindling.—Shyema Sajjad

Compiled by Syed Hassan Ali
karachian@dawn.com

Discrimination

Sir,
I am a disabled person. Along with another disabled person I was travelling with a man on a motorbike for a job interview. We were in a hurry to get to the interview when we were stopped by a traffic constable at Banaras Chowk. The policeman asked me to come down from the bike and insisted on issuing a challan as three people were riding the motorcycle.

I explained about our disabilities and the fact that we had no other option but to travel in such a manner. At that point a policeman said that we had violated Section 144 while driving. We reiterated that we were disabled and did not violate the rules on purpose, in response to which the policeman said that if he didn’t issue the challan, what amount would he keep in his pocket.

I was stunned to hear this. It is requested of the higher authorities to take measures against such black sheep.

SAYED IQBAL AKTHER
Orangi Town

Actions and words
Sir,

This year on July 30, Karachians met a pleasant surprise. After the first monsoon downpour hit the city, water-clogged roads and traffic jams were expected the next day. But, instead of that, citizens found the roads clean and clear the next morning.

The city government worked round the clock to install a water drainage system, which, at the time, appeared to be a fairly ambitious project, yet it has proved to be a successful venture.

Among the major arteries, I.I. Chundrigar Road is a good example, where experience shows that water would stand for many days even after small showers. This time the same road showed a different picture. Not only I.I. Chundrigar Road but all main roads verified the credibility of the development work carried out by the present CDGK.

It would be unfair if the development work carried out by the Defence Housing Authority is not mentioned here. There were hardly any traffic jams and flooded roads observed after or during the rain, thanks to better management and planning of the DHA.

The role of the electronic media, however, has not been very constructive, as it seems they love to display even small disasters that happen in any part of the country, but have not uttered a single word in appreciation of the aforementioned organizations’ developmental efforts.

EKHLAQ AHMED
Via e-mail

‘Talibanisation’
Sir,

Hidden hands are trying to destroy Karachi by creating uncalled for trouble between various ethnic groups residing in this city. Posters warning people against Talibanisation are being pasted on the walls and certain political elements are making provocative statements.

Now is the time for unity among all sections of society, as the country is passing through political and economic crises.

And if, God forbid, some nefarious elements are trying to create trouble, it is the government’s responsibility to protect the lives of the people residing in this city. It is not for individuals to take up arms against each other.

S. AMIN SHAH
Site
 

Profiteering by taxis
Sir,

I would like to use these columns to draw the attention of the authorities to wanton profiteering by operators of the city’s taxis. They have seen to it that the fare meters of taxis are not functioning. In rare cases where they are functioning, these give high, inflated readings.

This obliges commuters to use taxis on the lump sum basis of fare as demanded. Invariably, the fare so demanded comes to not less than Rs20-25 per kilometre.

Mind you, this charge is not for any recent model, air-conditioned vehicle but for jalopies dating back to the late fifties and early sixties. Perhaps to leave commuters no choice but to travel by these aged vehicles by paying exorbitant fares, it seems as if half of the total taxis stay off the roads, thus creating a shortage. This compels payment of the fare demanded, regardless of how high or unjustified it may be.The fare charged during peak hours – 8am to 11am and 4pm to midnight – is higher still, being equivalent to around Rs30 per km.

An argument advanced to justify charging of high fares is that the price of CNG had been raised by the government by Rs13. Subsequently, this erroneous rise in price had been rectified by the government, which has not been acknowledged.

The government must stop this defiance of its writ.

SAFIRULLAH
FB Area

Wilful neglect
Sir,

I would like to suggest to the government that while investigating the problems and causes of the KESC’s continued bad performance, they should not overlook the possibility of a wilful and planned scheme of non-cooperation by certain elements of the company to fail the private management.

This might be just to prove that the government’s decision to privatize the corporation was wrong, so that the government should retake control of it and these elements can continue to rule the KESC without any check.

As for the corruption of the KESC, I will mention only three instances to enable you to understand its state of affairs:

(a) Millions of rupees are misappropriated through the illegal kunda business and theft of electricity with the cooperation of certain KESC employees.

(b) The workers union had about 50 cars from the fleet of the corporation for their use, free of cost.

(c) For an ordinary complaint received by the KESC, where one person could do the needful, six persons are deputed under pressure of the workers’ union.

M. ABDULLAH

PECHS

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