Sir, Though I am proud of being a student of the University of Karachi, one of the prestigious universities of Pakistan, on the other hand I am quite depressed at being left at the mercy of politic4al activists at KU, who often use force to disrupt educational activities at the varsity.
They not only spoil the environment of the university, but also beat up innocent students. They mostly force students to attend their events or meetings, and students have no choice but to attend the events if they wish to remain unhurt.
Though these students belong to political parties, they don’t know how to protest. Whenever they protest, they create tension.
The university walls are disfigured with graffiti featuring slogans of political parties.
The authorities concerned must take strict action against all such anti-democratic elements at the university.
IQRA EJAZ Karachi University
Traffic bottleneck Sir, Coming from Gulistan-i-Jauhar to Jauhar Mor, if one wants to go to the Nipa crossing, one has to take a left turn and go all the way to Shell Askari petrol pump to make a U-turn below the Askari flyover at Millennium shopping mall and then carry on to Nipa.
In the morning rush hour (from 7.30am to 10.30am), there is a large number of commuters who want to go to Nipa from Jauhar Mor, but they are faced with a huge traffic jam at the U-turn below the Askari flyover. The traffic snarls up because a large number of vehicles coming from Rashid Minhas Road want to go to Sharea Faisal and a large number of vehicles want to make the U-turn below the Askari flyover.
To avoid this jam, many commuters coming from Jauhar Mor go the wrong way from Jauhar Mor to Aladdin Park and then use the protected U-turn near Lal flats to go to Nipa.
It is suggested that a road be built below the Jauhar Mor bridge which connects Jauhar Mor with Rashid Minhas Road directly.
Of course, it may hamper the traffic coming from the Millennium mall side to Jauhar Mor negating the whole purpose of the Jauhar Mor bridge. Another possible solution could be that the proposed road connection below Jauhar Mor bridge be made a time-restricted thoroughfare. It should only be opened during the morning rush hour when a lot of people are going out of the Jauhar area towards Nipa and very few people are coming from the Millennium mall side going towards the Jauhar area.
MUHAMMAD UMAR SAJID Gulshan-i-Iqbal
Illegal races Sir, For the past few Sundays, residents of Creek Vistas in Phase 8 of DHA have been subjected to noise pollution meant to rupture their eardrums.
Hundreds of motorcycles and cars use Street No 16 for staging races. All traffic laws are broken as the vehicles try to outrace each other. Most of the vehicles have broken silencers, which adds to the noise.
It’s a miracle that so far no one has been killed, although a couple of accidents have taken place.
I have a strong suspicion that boys from rich and influential families are involved, as the DHA authorities have done nothing (like making speed breakers) to discourage the practice. I suppose only a major accident will convince them to ban the races.
SHAKIR LAKHANI Clifton
PTCL complaint Sir, I had subscribed to the basic budget package of PTCL on April 28 (effective from May 1) by calling their helpline (1236) for my PTCL phone (021-34623433), Gulistan-i-Jauhar exchange.
This package entitles a person to 250 minutes for Rs299 at zero line rent. However, when I received the bill for the month of May 1 was surprised to see the billing details. I had been billed separately for local calls as well as line rent, which invariably increased my monthly bill, along with the applicable FED. I promptly lodged a complaint through fax with the PTCL president, but I have not been able to solicit any response.
Further compounding my miseries is the fact that the phone has gone out of order since June 16. I had lodged a complaint at 1218 and was given complaint number 98. However, the complaint remains unattended while the charges for the basic budget package continue.
Indeed, it seems as if the PTCL’s biggest competitor is PTCL itself.
ADNAN MAJID Gulistan-i-Jauhar
mailbag@dawn.com