Drive safely
Madam,
Young drivers enjoy driving cars recklessly and often flaunt rules and regulations. They get an adrenaline rush by driving over the speed limit and claim it is exciting and thrilling.
But it is extremely dangerous as the roads are crowded, there is much less control of the vehicle at great speeds and there are higher chances of accidents. We must follow traffic rules; it is always better to be safe than sorry.
At times, people drive very fast under the influence of alcohol and this must be avoided at all costs.
Pedestrians must cross only at zebra crossings and drivers need to give right of way to them. At traffic lights, drivers need to park vehicles behind the ‘Stop’ sign. They must ensure their vehicle’s indicator lights are working and the horn is heard clearly. The traffic police have to impose fines strictly on offenders: people driving without helmets or without using seat belts should be checked.
I hope that people will realise the importance of road safety and authorities will take more measures to check offenders.
Maria Khan,
Lahore.
Save Islamia College
Madam,
Experts from around the world have raised alarm at reports concerning the Islamia College University, where it seems some construction work in the pristine lawns and beautiful spaces of the iconic college has begun. The University of Peshawar’s administration has cited growing demand of students and faculty for additional structures, not realising that the beautiful red bricked building constructed in 1908 by Sahibzada Abdul Qayum and Roos Keppel is engraved in the memoires of many generations of Peshawar.
The on-going night time construction across Khushal House and back of the recreation centre has ruined the ambiance and serenity and a plan for about 10 more buildings across its landscape needs to be immediately stopped.
The majestic Islamia College building adorns Pakistan’s one thousand rupee note, vintage images of Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah visits during independence movement, besides, countless picture post cards and photographs contribute to a huge heritage memorabilia. In short, this building and adjoining gardens and spaces symbolise the beauty, grandeur, mystique of the past and reality of the present generation which cannot be described in words alone.
Over the years administrators and officials posted as vice chancellors have shown little interest in its exceptional cultural and heritage status. Their only concern has been to meet demands of growing students and correspondingly increase built area accordingly.
As per the trust of Quaid, vast lands were donated to the college in Charsadda and Swabi, and remain barren and unutilised. Therefore, the increasing demands for long term planning and building institutions of higher education in all districts of KP, enabling students of far flung areas fruits of quality education at their doorstep. This could lessen their expenses of living in hostels and travelling, besides adding to the already congested college campus.
The increasingly concretised campus is destroying its heritage value and has diminished chances of listing in the UN World Heritage Site being a priority of previous KP governments. The landscape view has already been compromised by the hideous BRT in the front. UNESCO previously expressed interest in listing Islamia College as a declared asset in Pakistan. However, on-going project by the myopic and greedy KP government negates UNESCO and KP Antiquity Act 2016 protocols. The KP Archaeology Department has blatantly failed in taking action against gross violation of regulations.
International heritage and tourism organizations, architects, citizens and civil society of Peshawar are urged to stop the destructive project aimed in depriving Peshawar of its rightful place in world tourism and heritage.
Adil Zareef,
Via e-mail.
Kapkapar School
Madam,
This letter is in reference to a recent report on Kapkapar Middle School, which is located in Tesile Dasht. There about 430 students enrolled in this school and it is unfortunate that all these students only have one teacher between them. The report highlighted the terrible conditions at the school which has been neglected by the government and the administration for a long time. On paper, this is a public school which should be protected by the government. However, the building has been rented out. This is bizarre.
Students did raise some objections regarding this issue and appealed to the government to provide them teachers so that they can continue their education. As instead of five permanent teachers, only one is fulfilling his duty regularly. A single teacher will never be able to teach 430 students.
Even though, education is considered the fundamental right protected by our own Constitution, students from rural areas are being deprived from these basic rights in Balochistan. So, the students of Kapkapar humbly request the district education officers to visit the school to know what are the issues being faced by the students. The school should be provided teachers immediately.
Shakeel Phullan,
Turbat.
Traffic woes
Madam,
Controlling Rawalpindi’s traffic jams is beyond the capacity of the traffic police. Mile-long traffic jams can be seen in the morning rush hours and during afternoons when heavy and light traffic crawls bumper-to-bumper, leaving ambulances and school vans stuck in the traffic.
The reason is the lack of traffic planning over the years. The traffic congestion on Sawan bridge on G.T. Road has increased because of the poorly-designed roads and security checkpoints near Fauji Foundation hospital.
Beyond the Sawan bridge, a large number of private schools create daily traffic jams, blatantly violating traffic laws, while traffic police appear helpless. The signal-free Islamabad Expressway from Koral Chowk to Rawat, which was to be started during the previous government’s tenure, has also been put on the backburner owing to other priorities of the government.
If the traffic police remain a silent spectator and the government does not initiate the much-needed development projects quickly, the traffic gridlock will keep exacting a heavy toll on the hapless population that voted for the PTI to power in the hope of a better tomorrow.
Sana Arshad,
Islamabad.
The Friday Times, Plot No 52-53, N-Block, Main Guru Mangat Road, Gulberg II, Lahore, Pakistan. 042.35779186; Fax: 042.35779186, email: tft@thefridaytimes.com
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