A recreational Spot

http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/Opinions/Letters/03-Jan-2011/Neglected-Gorakh-hill-station

Neglected Gorakh hill station

Daily Nation ,Published: January 3, 2011

The Gorakh hill station is located in taluka Johi, district Dadu, the province of Sindh. It is the coldest and most beautiful area of Sindh. It is around six thousand feet above the sea level. Its temperature is quite moderate and cool even in the months of June and July, when the rest of the country is facing scorching heat. Its road passes along the most developed Kachho city of taluka Johi. But sadly, the development work of the Gorakh Hill Station had started since the first government of the PPP in 1988, and even after passage of more than two decades, successive governments have so far succeeded in only constructing a road from Wahi Pandhi to Gorakh Satation. Moreover, the then government had also pledged to establish a college and a university there.
There is no doubt that this is an attractive tourist spot of Sindh, but deliberate neglect on the part of the consecutive governments has given this hill the look of a deserted spot. It is heartening to know that at last President Zardari has taken a latest briefing from the concerned authorities on the development projects of Gorakh Hill Station. This is at least a ray of hope. Gorakh Hill Station is a natural asset of Sindh. If developed properly, this spot can work wonders for Sindh’s tourism. Gorakh Hill Station.
– INAYATULLAH RUSTAMANI, Dadu, January 1.

http://news.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/letters-to-the-editor/hyderabad-library-neglected-060


The Dawn, Newspaper
Hyderabad library neglected

 
Sunday, 20 Jun, 2010

Libraries are places that attract a large number of students for the purpose of study and research.

Moreover, these are the places where one can study peacefully and comfortably. Shockingly, Allama Daud Pota Library, Hyderabad, is becoming a place of great problems for students coming here to study.

The reason is that the air conditioners and the large generator are lying unused, and can not be used during load-shedding despite the scorching heat.

This state of affairs turns the library to a deserted place. If one arrives here mistakenly during power outages, and finds the air-conditioners and generators switched off, he never thinks of revisiting it.

We the candidates of CSS repeatedly met the director of the library regarding the functioning of the generator and air-conditioners but all in vain. The library director always blames the authorities concerned for the paucity of funds and puts on phoney promises.

Allama Daud Pota Library is the largest public library of Hyderabad containing thousands of books and other relevant material. But the lax attitude of the library staff as well as higher authorities has destroyed the real charm and status of it.

The Culture and Tourism Minister Sasui Palejo visited the library a number of times this year, and inaugurated the Benazir Bhutto section of the library.

She assured the students repeatedly that she would solve their problems, but all in vain.

The politicians of Sindh may remember that this library is the backbone of education of Sindh.

The chief minister of Sindh and the culture and tourism minister are requested to take immediate and practical measures to solve the genuine problems of the library, making the air-conditioners and generator functional. A photocopy machine too needs to be installed there.

Inayatullah
Rustamani
Dadu

Gas Supply

 The Dawn, January 2,2011.

http://www.dawn.com/2011/01/02/plea-for-gas-supply-to-wahi-pandhi.html

 

Plea for gas supply to Wahi Pandhi

From the Newspaper
January 2, 2011 (3 weeks ago)

THE Zamzama gas unit of the BHP is located in Dadu district. It has reportedly been meeting 60 per cent gas needs of the entire province of Sindh. Sadly, an area of Dadu, Wahi Pandhi, that is just 28km from the gasfield, is devoid of this basic need. Wahi Pandhi is an area of Johi taluka. Its population is around 40,000 and comprises over 500 villages. The non-availability of the gas facility, on the one hand, forces the local people to cut trees for cooking and, on the other hand, the smoke and ashes of firewood are causing eye and skin diseases.

In this age of science and technology, when all countries in the world are committed to providing basic facilities to their people, control deforestation and reduce carbon emissions, the non-availability of gas to towns like Wahi Pandhi that are close to the gasfields raises many questions about the welfare efforts made by government.
Importantly, the provision of basic facilities to all citizens on an equal basis is the responsibility of the state, and a constitutional right of all. When Zamama gasfield pipelines stretch to far-away areas, the absence of natural gas facility to a city less than 30km is an injustice and violation of the constitutional rights of the citizens of the area.
There is a pressing need that the government of Sindh should take immediate measures to provide gas facility to the area. The provision of this single facility to the area will serve multiple purposes.
First, it will save the area from further deforestation, which is otherwise a challenge to the state. Second, it would reduce the burning of the woods causing emissions of global warming agents like carbon de oxide. Last but not least, it would relieve housewives of eye and skin infections.
INAYATULLAH
RUSTAMANI
Dadu

Corruption in Pakistan

http://www.dawn.com/2011/01/17/corruption-in-pakistan.html

The Dawn, January 17, 2011.

Corruption in Pakistan

From the Newspaper
January 17, 2011 (6 days ago)

Corruption has always been a big problem for Pakistan and is on the rise by the day. Apparently there are institutions like NAB, FIA and Ehtesab Bureau to curb corruption, but these have not succeeded in their efforts.
According to Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index, “In 2010, Pakistan stood at 34th number as compared to 42nd in 2009”.
It means it has plunged eight more points in corruption.
The irony is that before the release of the 2010’s corruption report, some high politicians of the ruling party publicly stated that there is no corruption in
Pakistan and now the country is free from corruption.
The lack of acceptance on the part of the government is the root cause of the problem. Any problem has to be first acknowledged to make a commitment to cope
with it, but this is not the case here.
According to the National Corruption Perception Survey (NCPS) 2010 of Transparency International, “The four top corrupt institutions are Police, electricity, land department and education”.
The chairman of Transparency International, Pakistan, Syed Adil Gilani, said “Corruption is the root cause of poverty, illiteracy, terrorism, shortage of electricity, food, etc. and lack of governance in Pakistan.”
Corruption is the main element and like cancer is eating up every institution of Pakistan.
The most powerful and profit earning institutions of Pakistan such as PIA, Pakistan Railways and Wapda are running in loss and are a burden on the nation only because of corruption. These have been extracting desired heavy charges from facility users, but despite that they are facing losses. Now the Haj Scam has come to the forefront that has brought the present government at the brink of crises.
We shouldn’t forget that corruption is the most powerful weapon that has so far fired many governments in Pakistan, including the second government of the PPP.
The Supreme Court of Pakistan that is trying to expose the corrupt elements and take suo motu actions against them; it has so far exposed many corruption cases like Haj Scam and the Rs193 billion loan right off from 1999 to 2009.
Sadly, the role of the present government is completely disappointing in taking action against the corrupt elements.
In the face of the passiveness of the government, the corrupt elements are powerful and evident in developing sugar and wheat like crises.
Combating corruption is the responsibility of the state and is the only way to strengthen the institutions and lead the country to progress.
This would be possible only when institutions meant to combat corruption are depoliticised and are made independent of any political pressure and interference.
In a parliamentary democracy, no institution should be above the law. Through a system of checks and balances corruption can be combated.
INAYATULLAH
Wahi Pandhi, taluka Johi

Violence Against Women

http://www.dawn.com/2011/01/05/violence-against-women.html

Violence against women

  January 5, 2011, The Dawn Newspaper.
January 5, 2011 (3 weeks ago)

THIS is apropos of Faisal Siddiqi’s article ‘Ordeal of rape victims’ (Jan 3). The writer has raised two good points. Firstly, NGOs, civil society activists and the government support the rape victims soon after the incident, but later they are abandoned.
Secondly, cases of rape victims are handed over to the lower judiciary that is not competent enough to understand the ordeal of the victim and punish the perpetrators.
Violence against women is on the rise in Pakistan. According to Aurat Foundation’s report ‘Qualitative review of statistics 2009’ (June 30, 2010), in 2008 there were 7,571 cases of violence against women, which rose to 8,544 in 2009 with an upward trend of 13 per cent.
These included 5,722 cases in Punjab, 1,762 in Sindh, 655 in KPK, 237 in Balochistan and 172 in Islamabad. Out of the total, there were 928 cases of rape/gang rape.
These increasing figures of violence indicate that the main culprits are never punished; hence there is rise in the number of incidents.
The perpetrators of violence, especially rapists, are at large because they are influential and get away with these crimes from the lower judiciary.
The few laws that exist in Pakistan for safety of women’s rights and their protection from various forms of violence remain unimplemented.
Women protection bills such as ‘Potection of Women at Workpace’ were passed at the beginning of 2010.
Although this law, on paper, recommends three years’ jail sentence and fine of Rs500,000, such severe punishments are never imposed because the lower judiciary is not immune to corruption and hence the influential get away with these cases by using money.
There is a need to bring a change in the mindsets of the men and implement laws to punish the perpetrators. According to a survey of the Pew Research Centre, a Washington-based independent organisation, ‘nearly 64 per cent of Pakistani men believe that university education is more important for men than women’.
The main reason behind the increase of violence against women is a lack of interest on the part of the government. The government is being run by the elite class and the rape victims are from the middle/lower class, whereas some of the elite class are either involved in such acts or support the perpetrator of violence.
Some instances from the past and the incumbent governments will suffice to clarify it.
When Mukhtaran Mai was gang-raped, the then president, Pervez Musharaf, instead of ordering severe action against the rapists, ridiculed the victim by stating: “Rape has become a drama in Pakistan just to get instant popularity or to fly abroad”.
The same is the case with this government: recently a woman adviser to the Sindh chief minister ridiculed the story of a recent gang-rape victim of Karachi saying: “Her story carries some lies as well”.
Moreover, the Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Bill 2009 was allowed to lapse in December. This shows the intentions of the government in protecting women from various forms of violence.
Although the apex court takes suo motu actions against rapists, these suo motu actions don’t provide much relief to the victims because the investigators are locals and most of them are not immune from the pressure of influential people, thus they don’t include the names of all involved in the particular incident.
There is a dire need that the government should constitute a special committee in each province to investigate the cases of violence against women and these cases should never be run in the lower judiciary but in the high court of each province.
Inayatullah R.
Wahi Pandhi, Johi taluka