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A genius of his age
Lack of civic sense THIS is with reference to the article by Mehroze Iqbal A Matter of Concern in the issue of March 24, 2002. It is indeed a matter of great concern that the vast majority of people in Karachi (I cannot talk of other cities which I have not visited for many years) have lost all sense of decency. They have no civic sense, are utterly selfish, intolerant, impatient, are highly undisciplined, and have no respect for the rule of law. They are not even concerned about keeping the city clean as is evident from the heaps of garbage seen every where. Driving around this metropolis has become hazardous due to the reckless manner in which the vehicular traffic moves, and it is a matter of great shame that the authorities concerned have no control, whatsoever, due to incompetence and negligence in performing their duties. One aspect of indiscipline among us, is to violate traffic rules in order to perform prayers (Namaz), is most disturbing. It is quite a normal sight to see cars parked haphazardly in front of a mosque on a Friday afternoon, and to save oneself the inconvenience of walking a few metres, to “double park” and to drive on the wrong side of the road. However, driving on the wrong side of the road is quite common. On April 15, around 6.10 PM, a government car (GP 1123) was parked on a busy road blocking cars in a charged kerb-parking area, and the attendant said that the driver had gone to perform his prayers. And as it was a government vehicle the ‘parking attendant’ could not ask him to move. Quite obviously the driver took advantage of the fact, parked the car without having to pay and causing inconvenience to others. It is most unfortunate, that the Ulema in our country make no effort to explain such matters which would come under the definition of living righteously. How is it that the traffic police are unable to check and control the movement of buses and other public transports which are a law unto themselves. Speeding, overtaking one another, stopping anywhere they like to pick up and drop passengers. The motorists, many of whom appear to be educated and well to do, drive around without having the least regard for the ‘rule of the road’, as they never stick to one lane. They are always in a hurry to overtake the car ahead of them even if it means creating a traffic jam, and causing inconvenience to fellow motorists, continuously blowing their horns. I don’t think they or even the traffic police are quite aware, that the whole of Karachi was declared a ‘silent zone’ in the fifties. Most of the motorists are unaware of the traffic rule regarding ‘giving way’ to traffic coming from the right at ‘round-abouts’, and to respect the ‘Zebra Crossings’ where the pedestrians have the right of way. The result is that, instead of being the safest place for a pedestrian to cross a road, it is the most dangerous. And as one can observe, people, by and large, are unaware of the use of a ‘Zebra Crossing’. Then we have the highly undisciplined motor-cyclists weaving their way, dangerously, between cars, and cyclists, without lights, in the dark! Isn’t it amazing that the traffic police are themselves unaware of the fact that bicycles must have a light after sunset, as ‘lights for bicycles’ are unheard of in Karachi. In the days gone by, when as youngsters we used to ride bicycles, we used to get off the bicycle and walk with it if it became dark and we had forgotten the ‘light’. We knew too well that if the traffic police caught us riding without lights, we would be challaned. But, those were different times and the rule of law was enforced without fear or favour. KHWAJA SAYEED SHAHABUDDIN Karachi | ||
THIS is with reference to the article A genius of his age by Shamsuddin Ashraf on 24 March 2002.|
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