AS someone living in Karachi, I would like to share my state of helplessness with fellow citizens, which is getting worse with each passing day. Ironically, no one appears to be concerned and bothered about these day-to-day problems of a common man. Perhaps the word common man is missing from the dictionary of our rulers, whether they are political or military. Let me record few aspects of a citizen’s daily life, which are common to all except the elite and the ruling class.
I can state with confidence that most people feel helpless like I do in everyday matters such as these. I travel by public transport and find myself unable to board the bus because of indiscipline and disorganized manner of our society. It is my misfortune that I cannot push or elbow out dozens of passengers who pounce on the door before the bus stops. i feel frustrated and humiliated when I approach a taxi, the driver agrees to oblige only when I pay him what he demands instead of what is the laid down fare
I go to pay my utility bills to a ‘Specified Bank’ and stand for a fairly long time in scorching sun outside the bank premises because I am not treated as a client and as such I do not deserve any sympathy. My area sewerage line is choked and filth flows all over the place but no one turns up for days, and even weeks at times. Or my area garbage bin is not cleared for long time. It all happens in spite of many requests to authorities.
When the water supply to our area is disrupted and I go searching for a water tanker, I consider myself lucky to bring one home at a price dictated by the owner. The roads leading to our residential area are damaged due to rain, overflow of sewerage line or by construction activity, no one feels responsible to repair these for months, even years in many cases.
I ring up 17 to inquire about a subscriber’s number, there is no response from the highly profitable organization. Or when my telephone goes dead, I keep waiting for days for the favour from the department.
My area electric supply system develops local fault but no attention is paid unless pestered constantly. A case of wrong billing requires a much-sustained effort to move the department.
Serious traffic violation are committed at traffic signals but the traffic police appears unmoved as if nothing had happened. The usual traffic jam exposes the efficiency of our traffic police because at that occasion I find them as helpless as I am.
I visit government departments with public dealings such as passport, income tax or NIC and agents who narrate countless benefits of getting the work done through them surround me. They warn me of consequences of going through the normal channels, which are, invariably, complicated and time consuming.
When one goes to a private school, the so-called ‘English Medium’ for admission of young ones, exorbitant admission and monthly fees are demanded. Is there an authority where one can go to complain about this loot?
Investment companies crop up all over the country and start collecting savings of innocent people and vanish very conveniently with their loot. None other than our own government subjects my savings to drastic cut in annual profits.
The pharmaceutical companies keep increasing drug prices (with the connivance of the health department) irrespective of consequences. No authority confronts these companies as to why the same drugs are sold in neighbouring India at one half or even one third of the price in Pakistan.
Merit is destroyed in all fields of life by those who are responsible to maintain it. Influence, clout and perhaps, blackmail have defeated all criteria of merit.
The list of such helpless occasions can go on endlessly without any ray of hope of getting some relief in any field of life. But hopelessness is a sin in our religion. I am, therefore, optimistic that someday the helpless people will wakeup to organize a forum or a platform which will mobilize the victims of helplessness and fight for the genuine rights of this mute community. Or, if this country is lucky enough, we may have rulers who care for the people in addition to caring for themselves.
