Sir,

This is in response to Mr Haseeb’s letter ‘Changing street names’ (Dec 10, 2011) which was in response to an article titled ‘Street names have a history of their own’ (Nov 27).

I tend to back the views of the writer. The names of streets, localities, towns and cities carry a historical background. Thus, people cultivate an emotional love for them over the years. Therefore, changing old names should be avoided. However, new localities and towns can be named as wished.

We can observe that in the recent past the names of cities like Leningrad, Peking, Bombay, Calcutta, Madras and Dacca have been restored to their original ones or according to local parlance: Saint Petersburg, Beijing, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Dhaka respectively.

In Pakistan, the North West Frontier Province has been renamed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in compliance with the people’s desire.

Against this background, I would like to suggest that the name of Karachi’s landmark thoroughfare, M.A. Jinnah Road, be restored to Bunder Road.

‘Bunder’ means port, and during the colonial days Karachi was designed in such a way that a major portion of the road featured shops constructed at designated places. The road came to be known as Bunder Rd as it led to Keamari, Karachi’s port.

After the death of the Founder of the Nation, Bunder Road was renamed M.A. Jinnah Road. I am sure had the name been changed during Mr Jinnah’s lifetime he would surely have objected to it because of its historical importance.

I hold Pakistan’s builder in high esteem and there is no intention whatsoever of creating any controversy. But a proposal could be worked out through which the road leading from Sohrab Goth to Old Numaish may be renamed as M.A. Jinnah Rd.

I am positive that our civil society and media have the capacity to discuss such issues without being carried away bysentiments. S. BUKHARI Karachi.

SSGC’s viewpoint Sir, This is with reference to the letter published in this space on Feb 20 from Mr Zaid Pirzado. He has mentioned some negligence by an employee of SSGC in rectifying a gas leakage complaint. The complainant has not mentioned his complaint number or his consumer/customer number. Our customer relations department always responds to such complaints regarding leakage of gas immediately. Our senior management and regulatory body (Ogra) also keep a close check on all such complaints. The customer relations department resolves the complaints within the shortest possible time and does not keep pending leakage complaints. In future, consumers are requested to always mention the consumer/customer numbers of the complaints in such letters, so that their problems could be resolved in the shortest possible time. S. NASREEN HUSSAIN Deputy General Manager, Corporate Communications, Sui Southern Gas Company, Karachi.

Parks without parking

Sir, I would like to draw the attention of the city administrators towards the hardships being faced by citizens in finding parking space at parks in Karachi. Many parks in the city indeed provide mental and physical relief to the people, especially the Bin Qasim Park and the Benazir Park at Boating Basin. I am a frequent visitor to these parks and they are a boon for people who live in a city as polluted as Karachi. The parks are huge and I am sure some space can be found to allot a parking area for visitors’ cars and motorcycles.Will the authorities concerned please look into this to provide respite to the residents of Karachi?

NIDA ZEHRA Karachi.

Pedestrian bridge

Sir,

I want to draw the attention of the authorities concerned towards a problem being faced by the people living in the vicinity of Power House Chowrangi, North Karachi, where traffic overflows from the main roads into this area.

It becomes extremely dangerous for the people to cross roads, especially considering it is a congested and thickly-populated area. Schoolchildren, workers and pedestrians are not in a position to cross roads easily and safely. Hence, there is a dire need for a pedestrian bridge here.

It is requested that a pedestrian bridge be built as soon as possible in the interest of the general public.

M.S. GHAURI North Karachi.

Stone Age

Sir,

I anxiously wait for Sundays so that I can get to read the captivating Stone Age articles. Of late, I have started keeping newspaper clippings of Stone Age for future reference. Great job!

SAFDAR NENSEY Via email. mailbag@dawn.com