Karachi Blog

KARACHI: From the very first working day after the closure of I I Chundrigar Road to public transport, the passengers of this route suffered an hours-long traffic jam and several traffic gridlocks on the diverted route from Merewether Tower towards M. A Jinnah Road for multiple reasons. The traffic police personnel had a tough time in the field under scorching heat, and few said in the light of past experience the given diversion was not a wise decision.

A survey of the alternative routes revealed that the traffic from Keemari and West Wharf was diverted at Jinnah Bridge towards ICI bridge up to Baghdadi Chowk from where it used Ghulam Allana Road through the Kharadar Jamaat Khana up to Merewether Tower from where it was again diverted to M. A. Jinnah Road till Memon Masjid and from there it was diverted on Shahrea Liaquat towards Aram Bagh Chowk on Baba-e-Urdu Road from where it joined its old route.

Things didn’t work as planned by the traffic police and the city government who according to DIG traffic made this plan after coordination between them. The traffic was diverted from ICI Bridge at Baghdadi Chowk and from there on it was diverted towards Kharadar Jamaat Khana where the traffic remained jammed for more than half-an-hour due to a gridlock at the main Tower. On further movement it was noted that at Tower the traffic could not be allowed through immediately. The vehicles parked in double lanes on the road along railway warehouse occupied most of the road and what worsened the situation even further was the cars and motorcyclists who drove into the third lane on MA Jinnah Road that was supposed to be used by traffic coming towards Tower just at the beginning of M. A Jinnah Road.

Sergeants present on the spot didn’t seem happy at all and when asked, they behaved as if they had been punished by the authorities. “I have not been able to move an inch since morning,” said another sergeant at Baghdadi Chowk. On condition of anonymity, he said, “We are just asked to regulate traffic whatever the situation but the authorities never think about our problems.” He further said that they did not even have masks to protect themselves against air pollution.

The other factors that contributed in traffic blockades were the U-turns taken by cars and motorcyclists blocking the traffic from the opposite side and the parking along M. A Jinnah Road and Shahrea Liaquat. In addition to this, the non-mechanised commercial vehicles also halted the flow of traffic on the alternate route. The motorcyclists were complaining of open manholes and sewage accumulated at some points on the alternative roads. The pedestrians also suffered and mainly complained against non-stop pressure horns and the thick smoke-emitting from old, rickety buses.

Those in cars used Mumtaz Hassan Road and Maulvi Tameezuddin Road for both commuting and parking while few made their way over the rubble of the dug-up road to their offices. It may be worth mentioning here that Rauf Siddiqi declared M. A. Jinnah Road a No-parking zone, but many vehicles were seen parked on this road. When contacted, the DIG traffic said, “I don’t have a big strength of traffic personnel, which makes things difficult for me. Besides, this violation (illegal parking) is always on the cards in all big cities of the world”.

KARACHI: According to the WHO there are 2.5 million tuberculosis (TB) patients in Pakistan which means that every year 171 persons are infected with the disease.This was revealed at a scientific session on TB, organised by the Ojha Institute of Chest Diseases, Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS) at its campus on Monday.

The Vice Chancellor DUHS, Prof Masood Hameed Khan informed the audience that TB was considered to be an incurable disease however the advancement in medical science has made it possible to cure it if the disease is diagnosed in time.

“The alarming spread of TB is due to poor health conditions, adulterated food, contaminated water and low immunity.” Prof Masood further said that in order to overcome this disease we need to launch an organised campaign against it to create awareness.

“This campaign may start with the support of NGOs at schools, colleges, universities and union council levels. Media can also play an organised role in this connection,” he suggested.The Director of Ojha Institute of Chest Diseases and TB expert Dr Ashraf Sadiq informed the audience in his presentation that there were 16.2 million TB patients throughout the world. Every second, a person gets infected from the disease and thus every year some 8.5 million persons get affected by this. Developing countries are most affected by TB and Pakistan ranks 7th among the most affected countries.

The speakers included eminent health experts like Dr Faizullah Shafqat, Prof Zaman Shiekh, and Dr Sharaf Ali Shah. The experts also presented their papers on TB, situation in Pakistan, TB and AIDS, TB and Diabetes, diagnosis, prevention and treatment regimes.

Karachi: The Higher Education Commission (HEC) has initiated a Plagiarism Detection Cell that will monitor all the PhD theses and research publication by checking them against the international literature.

According to the HEC, it will acquire high quality software, which will automatically compare the materials against the existing international literature and quickly point out the plagiarised items. The past several decades have seen many cases of plagiarism in Pakistan but no action was taken due to unavailability of any special equipment that can check plagiarism.

The HEC has adopted a zero tolerance policy and instructed the universities to take strict action against faculty members involved in plagiarism by suspending them from service. In this regard, action has already been taken against some faculty members of the International Islamic University, Islamabad and Government College University Lahore. The HEC has warned the universities that if they fail to take disciplinary action against plagiarism, their financial aid will be discontinued.

KARACHI: The Sindh Environment & Alternate Energy Department on Monday started free checkups of smoke-emitting vehicles in the metropolis. More than 150 vehicles were checked through smoke analyzing instruments, on a voluntarily basis, on the first day of the campaign.

Sindh Minister for Environment & Alternate Energy Dr Saghir Ahmed said that the government was not only was taking revolutionary and visible steps for the eradication of air pollution but was also providing fitness checkup facilities to people on a voluntarily basis to promote awareness about the harms of traffic smoke.

He observed that the air pollution caused by vehicle smoke causes diseases like asthma, bronchitis, heart and lung disorders and skin diseases. The vehicles discharge carbon mono-oxide with engine smoke that, which mixes with the blood and absorbs oxygen. This causes suffocation, headache, mental weakness, faintness and can even lead to death, he added.

Dr Saghir said that the patrol or diesel used in vehicles as fuel generates gas that has hundreds of thousands of carbons in it including carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, Sulphur oxide, as well as particles of carbon and lead. More than 30 percent of the vehicles plying on the roads discharge extra smoke, due to old engines and the failure to overhaul them.

Therefore, the minister said, people should get their vehicle engines overhauled after the prescribed period and should also stop using adulterated fuels. He said public cooperation was a must in efforts to strop growing air pollution.

Karachi: The first International Brain Research Organisation (IBRO) Associate School of Neuroscience that began on Sunday will usher Pakistan in the league of 112 nations, which are members of the IBRO, in trying to explore the mystery of human brain.

The Vice Chancellor (VC) of the University of Karachi, Prof. Pirzada Qasim Raza Siddiqui said while welcoming the participants at the inaugural session of the IBRO School of Neuroscience. The event is being held at the auditorium of the International Centre of Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS). The six-day school is jointly organised by Dr Panjwani Centre for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research (PCMD), University of Karachi and Aga Khan University.

The VC expressed hope that the young scientists who will be trained in the IBRO School will be able to teach others in the field of neuroscience. The establishment of a Brain Bank was on the anvil and the neuroscientists can solve the unanswered problems of the brain after examining the brain tissue cultures. All the endevour in the field of neuroscience will be supported by the IBRO. The stress factor in Pakistan had increased manifold and the stress-related diseases such as Schizophrenia, Alzheimer and Parkinson’s in, which neurons in the brain were degenerated and the brain stops to function normally. The IBRO School will work to find solutions to check advancement in these diseases.

The holding of regular IBRO Schools for the students of neuroscience (MD and PhD) locally and internationally will be possible after the first IBRO School in Pakistan. The Pakistan Society of Basic and Neuroscience (PASBAN) that will look after all the developments going on in the field of neuroscience was launched after the inaugural session.

The acting Director, PCMD, Dr Iqbal Choudhary pointed out that the brain is too complex organ to be handle by one individual or even one organisation. The best way to know the vast but unknown last frontier of the brain was to pool the resources both locally and internationally. Scientists from various fields can research and share their knowledge to get better results in solving the brain puzzles.

Pakistan is the sixth most populous country in the world and stress had induced Epilepsy in 10 persons out of a total of 1000, while the world average was five persons out of 1000. It is a dangerous sign and the development in the field of neuroscience can check the advancement of the disease.

The Chairman IBRO, Switzerland, Prof. Laurence Garey, the chief guest spoke about the advantages of studying and enhancing the knowledge of neuroscience. The Chairman, Aga Khan University Research Council, Dr Zulfiqar Bhutta talked about the foetal and child mortality in Pakistan, which is at rise due to stress and malnutrition of the mother during pregnancy. Dr Ather Enam, Professor of Neurology highlighted the necessity of enlarging the scope of the neuroscience in Pakistan.

KARACHI: Capital City Police Officer (CCPO), Azhar Ali Farooqi, directed the Operation, Investigation and CID departments to take effective security arrangements for Eid Milad-un-Nabi on Rabi-ul-Awwal. Azhar instructed the officials to keep their intelligence network activated and ensure deployment of security personnel at religious gatherings. He also ordered the staff to keep vigil and carry out heavy patrolling in their respective areas. The CCPO also directed the traffic police to make comprehensive traffic and parking arrangements on the eve of Eid. He directed the police officials to keep close coordination with the elected representatives of their respective areas so that security could be ensured during the religious celebrations. Azhar directed the DIG Operations, DIG Traffic, TPOs, Zonal SSPs of the traffic police, SDPOs, SHOs and officers to personally monitor the security arrangements for Eid Milad-un-Nabi.

KARACHI: The City District Government Karachi (CDGK) is making all efforts to encourage Karachiites to use paper bags in place of plastic bags.

The CDGK officials had a meeting with the manufacturers and suppliers of plastic bags who asked for a substitute. On the request of the city government these private parties have asked for some time to prepare paper bags which will cost them more than plastic bags.

The CDGK informed the private parties that the solid waste management department will recycle the paper which will in turn reduce the cost. The City Municipal officer Masood Alam while talking to The News on Monday said, “We have already designed these bags and they have been sent to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for approval.”

The bags are quite handy as a cord has been attached to them which will help citizens, particularly, women can carry them around easily. Alam said that once these recycled bags are introduced, the plastic bags will be automatically eliminated. The citizens have welcomed this initiative by the city government and are responding well. Many women have been seen carrying cloth bags, which shows their acceptance towards this step. The city government is also trying to introduce the design of these bags at all levels especially at the school level.

The city government officials along with volunteers will visit schools and try to educate children about the advantages of using paper bags and to discourage the use of plastic bags. He said that at present the government is distributing coloured bags free of cost.

Replying to a question he said that through the Sindh Government and the EPA some tax relief will be given to these manufacturers, as they claimed that some 30,000 people were attached to this plastic manufacturing business. “The CDGK does not want to make such a large number of people jobless,” Alam said. The plastic bags will not go to waste. Sources say they will be used to be cut into pieces and then utilised for making tiles or pipes.

KARACHI: The beautification work at the most important road of Karachi, I I Chundrigar is to start just after Rabil-ul-Awwal 12. The DIG Traffic has also assured to give a traffic diversion plan in this regard.

Informed sources told The News that a religious party has requested the government and the traffic police to keep the roads clear and open for this religious occasion. They don’t want to have any kind of hindrance in their celebrations. The traffic police, State Bank steering committee and the CDGK have agreed to this proposal but are firm that work will for sure commence on April 1.

The DIG traffic busy in VVIP movements and chalking out plan for 12th Rabi-ul-awwal assured that now there would be no delay by all means. Sources told The News that the State Bank Governor is also concerned over the delay of the project and is persuading all the authorities to expedite the work. Traffic police has kept a condition that the beautification project can only start when the sewerage lines being laid down on the Ziauddin Ahmed Road is completed.

Sources said that plans are underway to take business community into confidence and explain the causes for the delay in of the project. On a question as to what kind of beautification will be done on this road, there was no satisfactory reply and was told that said let the work start once.

KARACHI: The Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science and Technology (FUUAST) has decided to conduct Bachelors and Masters examinations for the external candidates and the university syndicate has also approved the decision.

Dr Syed Kamaluddin, Vice Chancellor (in-charge) of the university broke this news while talking to a few journalists in his office, on Wednesday. The proposed examinations will be held in mid October and the registration will begin from April 20.

The culture of ad-hocism, according to the VC, has been eradicated and the Registrar, Deputy Registrar and Deputy Controller of Examinations and other non-teaching staff have been appointed after holding the meetings of the Selection Board.

The VC was flanked by Muhammad Abdul Aleem the Registrar, Prof Waqar ul Haque, the Controller of Examinations, Samra Zameer, the Deputy Registrar during his conversation with the reporters.

The VC said that the examinations for the external candidates were discontinued in the university due to the shortage of staff and the tendency of cheating among the students. Now the presence of adequate staff will allow the holding of such examinations while the method of codification of the examination scripts will reduce the possibility of cheating.

ìThe teachers will have to check the copies in a centre within the university instead of taking them to their homes and the results will be announced within three months. The employees of the university will not be allowed to take these examinations to preserve transparencyî the VC informed the media.

ìThe changes have been brought about after the consultation and advice from Prof Attaur Rahman, Chairman, the Higher Education Commission (HEC) to end the uncertainty in the university.î Prof Waqar, the Controller of Examinations said that special vigilance teams will be constituted to check the cheating menace and the Rangers personnel will be put on guard.

KARACHI: The Provincial Police Officer, Sindh, Jehangir Mirza has expressed deep concern over the reports being received from the press and other sources that the sale