A VALUABLE GIFT: The People’s Bus Service has started its commercial operation from Model Colony to Tower. It is indeed a valuable gift from the provincial government to the people of Karachi who were looking for alternative means of transport. I have been using the service from Malir Halt to Lal Kothi, and the service has been a pleasure on all counts. I hope the government would sustain the project by keeping up the good work.

K.M. Shafi
Karachi

PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION: Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) is one of the few regions of the country where literacy rate is over 70 per cent. Despite there being a great passion for education, GB does not have a medical and engineering institution, and students have to migrate to big cities where limited quota-based seats deprive many of a chance to pursue professional education. It is time the relevant authorities fulfilled the promises made over the years in this regard.

Hasnain Altaf
Karachi

RAIN PRAYERS: We pray for rains, but as soon as it starts raining, we start praying for it to stop. A few hours of heavy rain recently caused urban flooding in low-lying areas and damaged housing units. Precious lives were also lost. We do not have appropriate infrastructure to prevent rain damages, and the city’s drainage system has all but collapsed. I hope the authorities would do the needful to prevent further damage.

Cdre (retd) Sajjad Ali Shah Bokhari
Islamabad

UNDERPAID TEACHERS: Private school teachers in Pakistan are overburdened with work as they are given multiple tasks to deliver within no time along with the responsibility of moral and ethical development of their students. In return, they are offered inadequate salaries and no incentives. Ultimately, these teachers are compelled to work additional jobs to meet their household expenses and that affects their mental and physical health and proficiency. The government needs to ensure that all teachers are well-paid and well-treated by their organisations.

M.A. Qurni
Peshawar

Published in Dawn, July 16th, 2022