APROPOS your news report (Jan 9) beautiful open rooftop, double-decker buses have been introduced recently in Lahore. They are meant for tourists who want to see Lahore. They not only look nice but are also serviced by their guides who have undergone extensive training on the history of Lahore and they passionately talk about it.

I go to Lahore frequently and get impressed every time I go there. One sees Sharifs everywhere, be it the underpasses, the overheads, the lawns, the parks, the illuminted canals and the neatly trimmed trees. First the Metro bus and now the Metro Orange Railway line system are rapidly converting Lahore into a modern city.

Like anywhere else in Lahore, the landscaping around Allam Iqbal International airport is extremely beautiful. It is probably the best one could see anywhere in the world. The neatly trimmed lawns, the different flower beds, the coloured hedges, the gleaming roads and neat flyover soothe the tired eyes. The recently planted orange and guava trees will add colour and a new dimension to the serene surroundings.

Everything is so pleasing to the eye and rejuvinating for passengers coming out.

While Lahore is coming up with Metro bus, double decker buses and Metro railway lines, Karachi scrapped the double-decker buses in the 1960s, shut down the trams in the 70s and the Karachi Circular Railway in the 1980s. Not only that the government did not prevent landgrabbers from constructing multistorey buildings and kutchi abadis on top of prime railway property. No anti-encroachment drive has been done against these elements.

It is time Karachi followed Lahore.

S. Nayyar Iqbal Raza

Karachi

Published in Dawn, February 14th, 2016