Sir,
In many parts of Karachi, arbitrary street blockage is increasing by the day. When this trend began many years ago in the name of personal security, people of a few neighbourhoods started blocking their streets to public vehicles without any sort of permission from the authorities.
Initially it was limited to dead-end streets and those with very little flow of traffic. But now people have started blocking busy streets and some connecting roads, which serve as a passage to hundreds of vehicles everyday, showing sheer disdain for the rights of other citizens.
Often the barriers are painted in the signature colours of the political parties dominant in that particular area so that no one dares challenge them. When these short cuts are no longer available many — if not most — people resort to breaking the traffic rules and take the wrong way on busy roads, endangering their life and the lives of others as well.
I urge the authorities to remove such hurdles to allow the free flow of traffic.
DR ABDUL KHALIQUEGulshan-i-IqbalUnregistered housing societies
Sir,
Housing societies and money grabbing are very much interconnected when we look at what is going on in the city, whether it is on the Superhighway or in the Malir area.
Firstly, the registration of many societies with the authority concerned appears to be dubious.
However, these projects are launched with great pomp and show, gaining the attention of low-income people who, in anticipation of buying an affordable house, fall prey to the tricks of such devious people.
Everyone seems to be aware of these schemes except the authorities concerned.
If timely action is taken and these fake schemes are shut down by the government the hard-earned money of the poor can be saved.
Often, after swindling ample funds from people in the name of registration, it is revealed that the ‘housing society’ does not exist, or the location of the society is different from what has been advertised.
Such schemes are motivated by dishonesty and greed and the poor are the biggest sufferers. Yet such frauds can be checked in advance if the mischievous people behind them are prevented from publicly advertising such projects.
I would request the Chief Justice of Pakistan to kindly look into the gravity of the matter and take necessary action.
MUHAMMAD MUSTAFA SALEEMKarachiMess at passport office
Sir,
In developed countries governments always try to give maximum facilities and relief to their public. But in Pakistan we observe at every step that the government wants to deliberately create more and more problems and tensions for its citizen by maintaining absolutely no infrastructure, organisational systems, and mechanisms at allgovernment departments. The Karachi passport office at Saddar is no different, where one can observe such a mess daily.
Everything is haphazard. It takes ages at every step of the passport application process, right from submitting fees, taking token, entering particulars and submitting thumbprints. Only the assistant directors’ endorsement seemed smooth, unlike all the other steps. At the end we come to know that an ordinary passport would take three months to be processed! Does it have to go to the US for some endorsement that such a huge time period is required?
One cannot understand why such a long time is taken for such a normal routine procedure, which should not take more than 45 days at the most. In addition to that there is no tracking or call system available so that one has to come and check after three months if the passport is ready. If not you have to make several trips. It is also beyond understanding why the authorities don’t just send passports to the recipient by registered post.
IMRAN AHMEDMalir
mailbag@dawn.com