STIPEND BLUES: The Higher Education Commission (HEC) keeps delaying the release of scholarship stipends to all the students studying abroad, frustrating them to hunt for jobs to sustain their expenses in an alien land, which is a difficult task. Such inexplicable delays are only getting worse with time, forcing the scholars to keep searching for jobs instead of focussing on their research and studies. Once they get a job and decide to focus on that, the HEC starts blaming them for not completing the task or not returning to the country. The HEC has itself to blame in such cases.

Kamran Akhtar Siddiqui
Sukkur

TECH-DRIVEN YOUTH: Society is getting driven by technology and gadgetry, with the young particularly in the grip of its claws. Children have started to spend more and more time with their cellphones, becoming lethargic. Sticking to the screen the whole day has its own health risks. It can adversely impact the eyes, and it puts a tremendous amount of strain on the mind. Social isolation has certain serious consequences as well. What is the point of having some fun at the great cost of one’s health?

Anoosha Ayub Solangi
Karachi

DEATH TRAP: A whole year has passed, but the roads in Khairpur Nathan Shah, destroyed by the floods last year, are still unrepaired. The portion of Indus Highway passing through the area has actually become a death trap for the commuters. A number of accidents have taken place, but the relevant departments have remained unmoved.

Ali Raza Soomro
Khairpur Nathan Shah

LESSONS NOT LEARNT: The floods that hit part of the country last year seem to have failed rather badly in teaching us a lesson or two. The rains caused misery last year, and this year, it seems, the fate of the people in the affected areas is not going to be any different. It is just that the rains are not as heavy as they were the last year.

Imran Ali Brohi
Jamshor

Published in Dawn, July 29th, 2023