| January 12, 2009 | Monday | Muharram 14, 1430 |
Lyari Expressway
Energy security for national stability
After a visit to the much-awaited Karachi International Book Fair, I finally settled down to read one of the books over the weekend. Out of habit, I read the text of the back cover first, and then started to scratch the price sticker. “Rs450” – read the sticker with, I noted with interest, the date mentioned on the top. And the date was 17/12/08.
When the sticker came off, it was surprising to discover another sticker under it, reading “Rs395.” Ok, this is intriguing, I thought. I went online to check that store’s website and the real price of the book. Sure enough, the price of that particular book was Rs395 only.
Apparently, that particular store pasted the revised prices on its stock of books ten days before the start of the fair, proclaimed that it was giving a 15 per cent discount and tricked the unsuspecting readers who thought they were getting a good discount.
Obviously, a 15 per cent discount on a price of Rs450, only means that a reader paid about the same price at the book expo that he/she would have done at the store’s outlet itself.
Tactics like these in a country where reading habits are already so poor just go to show that, very soon, reading will become a luxury that only the privileged can afford. It is always such a pleasure to visit the book expo and get one’s hands on books which are normally completely out of budget.
Any discount over 10 per cent does make a huge difference. But if reputable book stores, such as the one in question, are going to trick readers in this way, well, all I can say is, it’s a shame really.
—Hafsa Ahsan
An abundance of jaywalkers
The metropolitan city has an abundance of jaywalkers who often cause accidents, and serious ones at that. However, the blame is somehow always put on drivers and motorcyclists.
Most roads in the metropolis have several zebra crossings which are there for the convenience of people so that they can cross roads easily and safely. Besides, bridges have been constructed on several main roads where there is too much traffic so that people can utilise them whenever needed.
Furthermore, until quite recently the community police had been positioned all over the city to help people cross roads. And they were there even during rush hours be it morning or evening so that the citizens faced no problems of any kind whatsoever. I had often seen the community police helping the elderly, women and children cross roads near the Baitul Mukarram Mosque in Gulshan-i-Iqbal and the Civic Centre. And I think they were better at handling traffic than the traffic police ever has been. But somehow the community police became useless when people crossed the busiest of roads wherever they pleased.
Mind you, the jaywalkers also include educated people in case you are under the illusion that only the illiterate cross roads with abandon. Many office workers are seen jaywalking on I.I. Chundrigar Road, Dr Ziauddin Ahmed Road, and near the five-star hotels and the PIDC Building on a daily basis.
Going to the airport to see off my brother recently I was shocked to see a bearded man who must be in his early 50s cross Sharea Faisal near the Malir Cantonment with a three-year-old son tucked between his left arm and chest and a five-year-old son holding his right hand.
However, what really shocked me was that he was standing right in the middle of the road doing the balancing act with his children while the drivers were doing their best not to hit them.
What if his elder son had let go of his hand and started running as children can be so unpredictable and mischievous at times. What if a driver could not control his reflexes fast enough and hit them.
However, it does not take much to guess who would be held responsible in case of an accident. Even the public somehow sides with jaywalkers on such occasions.
On another occasion I saw a man and three burqa-clad women jaywalking on Sharea Faisal near Nursery. In fact, they had started running to cross the road which is even more dangerous as one or more of them might have slipped and fallen, leading to an accident or a major accident among several cars as everybody knows how cars speed up on main roads and highways.
It is not an uncommon sight to see a cyclist cross the road by walking while moving the cycle with his hands. And this is somehow never done on a zebra crossing. This hinders the moving of vehicles all the more.
However, the incident that shocked as well as made me laugh happened on Jamshed Road recently.
A six-foot-tall policeman standing in the middle of the road kept swaying to and fro not knowing what to do – whether to move forward or go backward – as he was scared of the oncoming traffic.
The drivers of vehicles, rickshawallahs and motorcyclists kept avoiding him so as not to hit him.
Finally, he made up his mind and lurched forward to the island in front of him. My rickshaw sped past and I could not see how he managed to cross the rest of the road.
—Mohsin Maqbool Elahi
Charged parking
Karachi by far is the country’s largest city with the highest number of vehicles plying its roads and every year with the huge influx of more vehicles the problem of parking is becoming more and more acute.
Although charged parking has been introduced at some places in the city to reduce traffic congestion on roads, which certainly is a positive development, it has a few loopholes. Parking places have been assigned to different contractors who charge motorists and motorcyclists a fee of their choice and allow them to park their vehicles.
Ironically, many contactors have not been allotted open space such as a vacant plot in congested areas. They have merely been given the responsibility of ensuring that people park their vehicles in an orderly manner on the city streets.
While in some designated parking areas the contactors resort to the practice of double parking cars in an effort to make an extra buck and also by allowing parking of more than the usual number of motorcycles.
Then there are other contractors who charge much more than the amount specified on receipts. This sometimes causes heated altercations between the vehicle owner and the contractors. Besides, there are a few smart contractors who issue a receipt stamped with a fee higher than the one printed on it. This ‘innovative’ idea is also adopted at the toll plaza on the National Highway. A colleague on a recent trip to Thatta was charged Rs15 on crossing the toll plaza. The receipt did not attract his attention as the figure stamped on it was same. However, he was surprised to see that the stamped amount was 50 per cent higher than the charges printed on the receipt.
Nevertheless, the exorbitant parking charges levied by posh hotels are not less than Rs60 these days.
I have always contended that “Anything worth doing is worth doing well.” Charges should be uniform throughout the city and the contracting companies should have uniformed attendants with proper identification so as to avoid the risk of unscrupulous profiteers trying to make a quick buck from this scheme.
It is a noble effort on the part of city planners to ease traffic congestion by allowing parking in orderly manner on streets and roads but half-baked solutions only add to the problems rather than resolving them.—Syed Ali Anwer
Compiled by Syed Hassan Ali
karachian@dawn.com
Sir,
Though it should have been completed long ago and despite very slow progress, mainly due to illegal/unauthorised encroachments and many other reasons – social, economic, political as well as non-political – the Lyari Expressway is one of the best road projects undertaken in Karachi in recent years.
The south-bound or the eastern bank road has been open to light traffic for several months now. It is very convenient for the daily commuters from northern Karachi and travellers from outside Karachi going towards Merewether Tower and adjoining areas. It saves a lot of time and fuel and reduces smoke pollution and traffic load from older routes which pass through more heavily populated areas.
Work is progressing now at a much faster pace on the north-bound or western bank also. But it may still take between 12 to 18 months to complete the interchanges and the remaining portions, hopefully, if work is not stopped in between for any of the aforesaid reasons.
The traffic engineering bureau must have carried out and recorded a detailed study of the flow of traffic on an hourly basis on the road already opened to traffic for several months. This new and expensive road appears to be rather under-used, except for the morning rush hours. And this will continue to be so till the remaining work is fully completed on the other side, which may be well over a year from now.
It is, therefore, suggested that in consultation with the TEB, the already opened portion may be opened for south-bound traffic in the morning rush hours, and for north-bound traffic in the evening rush hours, till the opening of the road on the other side.
This will not only lead to enhanced revenues, but also a lot of savings in terms of fuel, travelling time and convenience, especially for the daily two-way commuters. It will also result in further reduction in exhaust/smoke pollution in the city centre now caused due to the frequent (almost daily) evening traffic jams.
IJTIBA ZAIDI
DHA Phase VI
Miseries of Bath
Island residents
Sir,
Three years ago Bath Island, a very posh and exclusive locality of Karachi, was inundated with rainwater due to heavy downpour. The city government at that time came to its rescue and started work on drains, which was completed last year.
The good thing was that the major sewerage drain of the city, which carries most of the waste and passes through Bath Island, was also salvaged. However, the restoration work started on the sewerage drain i.e. its cleansing and construction of protective walls at appropriate places, has been left unfinished without any reason.
As a result, not only has the sewerage drain been clogged again but the entire locality of Bath Island is now full of a pungent stinking odour as well as mosquitoes and other poisonous insects which have made the lives of residents miserable.
The city nazim is requested to consider the extremely pathetic condition of Bath Island residents and get the incomplete work of drain refurbishment finished at the earliest so that the area people can be saved from various physical and psychological tortures.
MANSOOR UL HAQUE SOLANGI
Bath Island
Appeal for letter box
Sir,
We, the resident of Sindhi Jamait Cooperative Housing Society situated at Main National Highway (Bin Qasim Town), would like to divert the attention of the higher postal authorities towards the lack of postal facility at the society and its surrounding areas. The total population of the area is around 10,000.
Non-availability of letter boxes by the postal authorities in the area is creating a lot of problems for the residents. Even to post a letter they have to go to Quaidabad, which is about four or five kilometres away, thus wasting their precious time besides paying at least Rs20 to private transport on return journey just to post a letter.
It is suggested that a letter box be installed at the outside premises of the society for the benefit of the residents at the earliest.
RESIDENTS
Sindhi Jamait Cooperative Housing Society
Sewage-mixed water
Sir,
The residents of Yousuf Haroon Road and areas surrounding Sheedi Arabi Mosque, Baghdadi UC-5, Lyari Town, are getting contaminated sewage-mixed water for a long time. This contaminated water gives off a foul smell, is unhygienic and unfit for human consumption and likely to cause abdominal and skin diseases.
Several complaints have been lodged but to no avail. The city nazim is requested to take note of this.
ABDUL AZIZ KHATRI
Baghdadi
Whose idea?
Sir,
I do not know whose idea it was to organize IDEAS 2008 at the Expo Centre in the middle of the city. I would certainly like the person who has given this idea to go through the pain and agony which we underwent on the first day of this event.
We are proud to have the Expo Centre at Hasan Square since a lot of creative and healthy events are organised here. However, IDEAS 2008 has completely put us off to the extent that we would propose to shift the Expo Centre somewhere else. This event, requiring the highest level of security coupled with the visits of our elected dignitaries, has given us endless trouble.
After a tiring day’s work, while returning, it took me two hours and 45 minutes to reach home, which ordinarily takes 20 minutes. I was so near my home, which is in the vicinity, yet so far, because of security arrangements. Most of the other routes were closed due to VVIP movements that created complete chaos.
Isn’t it surprising that democratically-elected leaders who are by the people, of the people and for the people make the common people suffer so much?
I hope someone at the helm of affairs would heed my plea.
DR HASAN THARANI
Gulshan-i-Iqbal
city@dawn.com
IF the power outages, loadshedding durations and gas supply problems – of both piped gas and CNG – show any trend in the past few years, it is toward lower and lower reliability.
Long power outages and low gas pressure have become endemic in the country, the twin cities being no exception. These are serious problems for businesses and industries and major inconveniences to households and car owners.
This is the second consecutive winter in which many car owners in the twin cities have had to run around town looking for an open CNG station and then having to wait in snake-like long queues once they find an open station.
Recent civil disturbances in several cities in the country, including Rawalpindi, over power outages and gas supply problems show how important a factor energy security – the availability and accessibility of sufficient and affordable energy – is to national stability.
With energy demand in the country projected to increase in double digit percentages as we continue to industrialise and as our living standards continue to improve, increase in energy production alone – including experiments with other energy production options like nuclear energy and more recently, wind, solar and even biomass power – will not be able to keep up with demand.
Moreover, the production of more and more energy, particularly from coal, has profound environmental impact as well as consequences for our economy, since power plants are expensive to build and the dependence on imported oil and very soon, imported gas, is a drain on foreign reserves.
While our electricity and gas utilities have plenty to learn about improving the reliability of their services from the experience of foreign utilities, and we probably also need to review the policy of promoting CNG vehicles, what we also need to simultaneously focus on is improving energy efficiency.
This is a policy which developed countries have adopted and many developing countries are adopting as a means to solve their energy demand problems as well as reduce their dependence on foreign energy supplies, especially oil.
There has been increasing awareness in Pakistan of the need for the use of more energy efficiency products in recent years. One example of this is the switchover by many businesses and homes from the traditional inefficient incandescent light bulbs to the modern compact fluorescent light bulbs that use 75 per cent less power. Another example is the switchover from the traditional air-conditioners to the more fuel-efficient split-unit air-conditioning system.
But more energy efficiency can be achieved if businesses and homes also adopt efficient lighting control systems, e.g., automatic dimming controllers, as well as high efficiency air-conditioning control systems to save even more electricity.
Many homes in the twin cities have also started installing sensor-controlled instant gas geysers for water heating which help to reduce domestic gas consumption as compared to the ordinary geysers.
Performing regular maintenance (at least once every six months) of air-conditioning systems as well as making informed decisions about energy efficiency during the design process of commercial buildings and homes can also help reduce the energy needed for such buildings and homes.
However, a lot more needs to be done to popularise energy efficiency in our fuel-guzzling industrial sector – including many of our power plants – where the vast majority of energy saving potential lies.
In Islamabad, the implementation of new energy efficient technologies can help many of the polluting factories in the federal capital territory not only to improve their level of energy efficiency but also to adopt cleaner and “greener” production methods that emit less pollutants.
In many countries, including the US and China, there are specialised energy-services companies to help factories, corporations, etc., to improve energy efficiency. These companies perform energy audits for factories, etc., by evaluating the way in which energy is being used and then devise a plan for improved efficiency.
Some countries have even established national Energy Efficiency Centres (EEC) to drive the promotion of improved management of energy use in their countries.
These EEC are usually non-profit organisations which work with the government and the public, domestic and foreign industry including chambers of commerce and industry, and international organisations such as the UN, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, in promoting energy efficiency technologies and awareness of the environmental impacts of energy use in their respective countries.
Unless we recognise energy efficiency to be an important energy resource and the key to Pakistan’s future, and adopt an appropriate national strategy to develop awareness and promote energy efficiency in the industrial, business as well as domestic sectors in order to ensure energy security, continuing energy supply problems of the magnitude of recent years will constitute serious impediments to both economic growth and national stability.
