Light Within

Husain Qazi

Lahore - the heart of Pakistan, is known for its historic buildings and splendid structures. For centuries the successive regimes have been enriching the city with love and determination. The construction of each successive era; Mughal, Victorian and the modern, has added tremendously to the grandeur of the city.

Shalimar Interchange is a beautiful addition in the landmark constructions of the metropolis. Constructed on the road to historic Shalimar Gardens, it is a link with our rich heritage and continuation of the artistic vision and the superb building skills that our master craftsmen possess.

Shalimar Interchange is a state of the art project, conceived by the Government of Punjab, planned by the LDA / TEPA, designed by NESPAK and constructed by Frontier Works Organisation – the leading construction organisation of the country. It is the first three levels interchange in Punjab over the canal and the railway line and comprises of a 1.6 km Flyover, 2 Underpasses, 2 Ground Level Bridges and 11 km service roads around the site.

The interchange will greatly benefit the people of Lahore by improving the city’s traffic flow. The Mughalpura crossing - accommodating bulk of the city’s traffic, was a choke point where even the ambulances were held up in the traffic jams. The majestic flyover now conveniently connects the city with cantonment. On the canal side; the underpasses convert the canal bank road into a fast moving signal free corridor. Commuters to the Shalimar Gardens, Jallo Park and Mughalpura Dry Port will be much facilitated by the facilities of the Interchange.

The 10 to 15 minutes time that was wasted in crossing this choke point has now been reduced to just a minute. As per the traffic count, 1 lakh vehicles crossing the interchange will be benefited with a net saving of 6000 hours of traveling time per day.

“The flyover-bridge is of the latest design that is most suitable for the locality. Its sleek transoms (pillars) and girders radiate openness. Besides regulating the traffic at a previous chokepoint, it will provide maximum utility for the residents by uplifting the whole area” (Khwaja Ahmed Hassan, Chairman Task Force Lahore Road Rehablitation Project, II).

The grand project, conceived back in 1976 could not be implemented due to site restrictions and technical difficulties. It was a challenge for the visionary Chief Minister and his dedicated team which has been accomplished AlhamdoliLlah with lot of effort and determination.

During the accelerated pace of construction two valiant workers of FWO laid down their life while combating the odds of construction.

The congested site was acquired after a prolonged effort by shifting the installations of 5 different departments. The huge motorcycle market, numerous houses, shops and mosques were shifted and encroachments coming in the Right of Way were removed.

The design was improved many times keeping in view the ground situation for eg the soil condition that required enhancement in the strength and quantity of the foundation and the pillars. This process made it more practical however increased the workload and construction time.

About a hundred pieces of heavy machinery and plant operated in a restricted site within the chaos of running traffic.

The large tangled web of underground services i.e. the sewerage, water supply, ptcl and the overhead high tension electric cables was systematically relocated.

The addition of two underpasses and an additional bridge over the canal was accommodated within the scheduled time.

The project has incorporated the best of design, material and workmanship. It has been specially designed to give maximum space to the traffic moving under the flyover.

For a sound technical management NESPAK, the renowned consultants, were engaged for the designing, construction-supervision and verifications.

The civil works have been executed by Frontier Works Organisation by putting in the best of technical skills and practical experience with a day and night effort and sincere dedication. FWO yearns to take up the quality of construction to new heights after the successful performance of road projects implemented about 13 years back.

The design and construction aspects of the project involved much more effort and material than any other flyover previously constructed in the province. Its quantum of work is three times more than the Jinnah flyover.

The landscaping and aesthetic designing is being carried out with a focus on incorporating the glorious Mughal art with this state of the art project. FWO thanks Punjab Government for involving it in the development of Lahore. It is our honour that our projects are referred as a marvel of construction and a model to follow.

With all the sincerity and best wishes, Shalimar Interchange is presented to the people of Lahore as a New Year’s gift.

Annual (accompanied) get together 55 PMA Long Course will be held on April 18, 2010 (Sunday) at 1100 Hrs at Chinnar Golf Course Murree.

Each one of you is invited with family. Due to non availability of guest rooms everyone is requested to visit Murree on April 18 and come direct to Chinnar Golf Course. For details, contact Col Muhammad Asif (Retd), Course Secretary on his mobile nos: 03005018772/ 03005135616.

Confirm your attendance directly to Hav Hassan, PA to Maj Gen Munawar Ahmed Solehria (on telephone no 051 9290200) or Col Muhammad Asif(Retd) latest by March 27, 2010. Images: 55 PMA Long Course

Related: Annual Get Together 2009, All about 55 PMA Long Course Men at Their Best 

Violent crimes have been at historic up nationwide; they are rising sharply in all cities. The rise seems to have been set off by something more bewildering.

Imagine Lahore only ten years ago: It was a different city; socially cohesive, closely knit. Young children could go visiting neighbors or to nearby shopping centers to get groceries and other things but not now. People then knew each other personally and had strong social bounds; hence courtesies for each other.

Things started changing with an exponential increase in urbanization. Large number of outsiders started moving in Lahore to live and or work. Now even the immediate neighbors do not know each other and people act like total strangers. Garish housing societies have come up on all the open spaces inside the city and Lahore has expanded much beyond what used to be municipal boundaries. The crime rate has grown with mush faster speed than the city.

What are the apparent causes? Many experts say that crimes are a result of disintegrating familial and dwindling community values that are contributing in turning young people into violent criminals.

Due to the growing demand for educated workforce and skilled labor, an employment base that used to provide jobs for those without a school certificate has shrunk considerably. This situation has resulted in a general lack of hope. “If one does not have skills, training, and when socio economic situation looks desperate, does that young man really have hope? I think that ties into the anger,” says a sociologist Dr. Muhammad Anwar, “This anger seem to be translating in to crimes, petty in the beginning that leads to more heinous ones at later stages.” This is the reasons that the criminals mostly are in their mid teens to mid-20’s.

One finds unskilled workers sitting in a linear fashion with their tools - mountains of paint brushes, piles of colour scheme cards, number of empty paint cans, digging paraphernalia and or hammers of different kind (who said unskilled labour) - along any city roads and squares waiting for a day’s job. They all come from suburbs to earn their livings. What options do they have when they do not get the job for the day and they have to go back home to family that is to b fed, is the question. They not only lose hope but may get frustrated that may lead them to resort to unfair means, what ever is possible for them.

Similarly, the army of maids and home servants who come from nearby villages and towns when dazzled by urban glamour are incited to commit to petty crimes and thefts.

Not only unskilled and uneducated segment, even degree holders find it difficult to get their first job after graduation because traditionally the job market in slow economy of Pakistan has always been tight. Which is why one reads reports of crimes (from purse and mobile phone snatching to car lifting to burglaries and murders) being committed by people from effluent class and living in posh localities of Lahore? Though generally, the poorer neighborhoods are considered to be the hubs for frequent criminal happenings. Let me hasten to add, this does not imply that there are no crimes in posh localities like Defense Society, or Gulberg or the criminals living in these localities can not commit crime around Railway Station or Badami Bagh Bus Terminal or Lakshmi or Bhatti gate.

Besides hopelessness, crimes are attributed to greed, to an evil nature, to poor parenting, to television, to movies, to the Internet, to whatever seems to be popular and not in accord with our old societal value system. These and many other are the reasons that we find crime rate rising on an alarming rate.

Crime statistics, like any other officially reported data, cannot be considered reliable. In the past decade, Lahore has been awash with guns. Empirical evidences tell that Kalashnikov and other automatic weapons have become ubiquitous in Lahore, city called cultural capital of Pakistan. This fact makes the crime quick and fast, much faster than law enforcing agencies to track.

Criminality extends into all levels of society and it cannot be restricted to the largely undefined boundaries of Lahore. Given the fast and efficient communication means (roads network, mobile phones, more transport), it has been observed that criminals sometime come from suburbs, make their day and go back uncaught. Those who study crime debate say, “Criminals may be from anywhere but all crime is local, of course, and each city has its underlying causes.”

Analyzing crime is an absorbing exercise. It throws up new facets of crime and new ideas on how to cope with them. The real tragedy, however, is that there is hardly a national debate on crime, like the one seen in the developed world; where the crime are more. “Unless crime hits hard personally, I am not concerned,” is the worst attitude that is exhibited some time.

The only long term solution to put an end to crimes and make our society more civilized is to end hopelessness. How to create hope in the people and tolerance in our society are the real issues that need to be addressed. And this can happen when every one is conscious and does what ever is possible.

The solution is not with police or any other law enforcing agencies. “The problem is much deeper and the solution has to be long term. Combating crime firmly and honestly is one thing. Provision of education, heath and other social securities, fair play in practices and procedure are some other starting points. Collectively, we should act responsibly and are some factors to start if we have to combat crime,” Dr. Pirzada Inam Karim.

Earlier this articles appeared in Nation, is also at All Things Pakistan.

Pakistan has now not won a single test match in Australia since December 4, 1995. During second test match of this series Pakistan at one time needed only 125 runs to win with 9 wickets in hand. At that instance I was naive enough to actually put a draft post at ATP celebrating Pakistan’s win in Australia after 15 years. I did not publish that post and then I fall asleep. I woke up few hours later to see the heartbreak hotel. Pakistan had lost remaining 9 wickets in 89 runs and lost the match. I was so glad of not publishing the post earlier and then deleted my draft write-up with a heavy heart.

Pakistan’s last victory in a test series was in 2006 in a home series against West Indies. It is easy to demand resignations, sweeping changes, sending all current players home and rebuilding the team from scratch but the scary thing is that Pakistan has no batting talent for test matches besides what we’ve got in the current team.

Who can name atleast 4 batsmen of test calibre that can replace the current bunch in test matches? Only Taufeeq Umar (Test Average 39.29 from 46 innings), Asim Kamal (Test Average 37.73 from 20 innings), Fawad Alam (Test average 41.66 from 6 innings) and Yasir Hameed (Test Average 34.52 from 45 innings)’s names come to mind. We need batsmen for test teams with solid 40+ averages.

In the current team here are the all time batting averages of our stars.

Besides the current team, if I may say, the tier two batsmen are not worth of 2 day matches, let alone 5 day test of test matches. I closely followed the premier domestic QeA trophy matches this year and there is no batting talent for test matches to speak of. I know I am making a very general statement but this is truly what I believe and what I saw from QeA matches this year.

Now twenty20 format is a different ball game. We will find many batsmen in Pakistan very capable for Twenty20 but the technique and temprament needed from a test match batsman seems to have got lost in Pakistan.

Fielding and catching also needs to be improved tremendously. Pakistan dropped 14 catches in 3 test matches - the highest I’ve ever known to be dropped by Pakistan.

I won’t put much blame on bowlers as I think we have got ‘OK to better’ bowling talent in the team.

What do our readers think?

Travel writing is a fine art; accepted literary genre that is read. Writers who are gifted with an ability to understand what they see and can breathe life into a place when they narrate their travel experiences. The Internet that is wrongly considered as a pedestal for instantaneous scribbles mixed with emotions and indecipherable abbreviations has already become a place to find some good travel literature, travelogues and travel stories in addition to online trading of travel services. It can be one of the best display places for travel writers to showcase what their countries have to offer.

Travel is prosperity and leisure pursuit, which is a result of many things; history, heritage, culture, natural beauty and a quest to know what is unknown and meet wonderful people.

Pakistan is a land of geographical, geological, and natural contrasts and has every thing nature could bestow; from some of the places like Mehr Garh in Balochistan and Harappa in Punjab where some of the initial human activities began, Lots Valley (NWFP) once home to Gandhara Civilization where Chinese Hiuen Tsiang who is regarded as an early trendsetter traveler treaded, or ancient city Multan that, as per the legend, is living since the time of Hazrat Noah (A.S.), Kalash community existing in an on the edge district Chitral still holding awaiting for anthropologists' conclusive research about origin of their unique identity against all outside pressures for development and modernity, unsolved riddle where rivers were lost (River Hakra in Cholistan) to pristine locations in Northern Pakistan (tree line in Himalaya Range) where one can see two seasons at the same place -- winter above and summer below, and thematic pilgrims for Sikh and Buddhist communities, to name just a few.

Now consider this: All major national publications have some portions designated for travel writing but it is a small and competitive market. For those who write in English -- language that is understood on World Wide Web -- the market is even smaller. Experienced travel writers are associated with newspapers and magazines and new ones get chance to appear in print only occasionally. There should be more travel journalism and industry news. Public should know if the Ministry of Tourism reduces royalty fee by 50 percent for climbing Pakistani mountains that are above 6000 meters.

On the other hand, facts packed guidebooks with eye-catching, superb, clear and sharp images of people and places enlivening every page provide good background information into any country's history, culture, attractions, and its people; information that are useful during journeys to new places. Guidebooks have their own style quite different that travelogues and travel stories. The guidebook publishing business is totally in the hands of famous foreign companies and it is hard for local publishers to compete with them. "Only foreign tourists need and buy guidebooks and they already have one when they arrive in Pakistan," says a publisher Munir Ahmad. Still opportunities for travel writers do come up from time to time. Some guidebook companies also get updates and inputs from local writers and photographers that appear in their newer editions. Some time ago, for example, Insight Guides commissioned a local writer to revise their outdated edition. Tony Wheeler, British founder editor of Lonely Planet while marketing guidebooks on Pakistan prides in growing up here for some years and has contact with many local travel writers for updates. But, Munir Ahmad says, "Publishing guidebooks is not a viable option here; it is difficult to sell books." Same is the case with self-publishing by writers.

Given the rate of travel industry growth and every one's interest in knowing new places, people and cultures, so many Websites have come up that show travel contents all over the Internet. So far Pakistani destinations have very scanty presence on the Web. Print publications, particularly English, get the original work and pay to the writers whereas most Websites just recycle travel articles from print media.

This scarcity of places where to get published leaves the travel writers to turn to the Internet where they can pitch their ideas to many editors of travel Websites and or interested foreign publications who are always looking for new talent; eager and encouraging. Until that happens, the Web is considered one of the best places for travel writes to start.

Not only that; writers can read what has already been published there and find background material and facts. Quick search on the Internet reveal so many starting points, notwithstanding travel writing how-to services and premium travel writers' marketers. BootsnAll.com, where I am published some time, is a Web service that post articles by writers from all over the world. I have found it writer friendly and receptive to new locations.

In Pakistan, so far much has not been documented systematically what to talk of presenting it on the Internet for others to find about with an aim to tempt them to come here and see (and spend their money in the process). Which is why Pakistani travel writers and photographers have a vast field of activity on hand right at home? In addition to glob trotters with a compass, a camera and itchy feet, historians, geographers, archaeologists, geologists, naturalists and birdwatchers also need to publish their work in order to generate wide-ranging interests in off beat and mostly obscure destinations in Pakistan. I know an engineer Itehar Mahmud who works with oil exploration firm and writes about places wherever he goes in connection with his duty. Colonel (retired) Mobeen Ahmad has traveled all along the borders, "for reconnaissance purposes mostly on foot," he says, during his long service. He also writes his memories in the form of travelogues. It is in this context the Web can be viewed as the playing ground for local talent.

Travel calendar of Pakistan is quite impressive. Where else in the world other than in Pakistan polo - grandest of all the sports – is played at the high ground like Shandor Pass that is called the roof of the world, or moving international cultural festival are held but along Kharakorum Highway. But all the events on the calendar go without any advance publicity or follow-ups. One wonders how interested people come to know about these events. PTDC list of events and festivals need to be improved and lot more can be included in the list.

Somebody has to write the travel literature in order to keep fuelling the demand for airline seats, hotel rooms, tour operators, eateries, transport companies, porters and facilitators, guidebooks, atlases, picture postcards and posters publishers, and other affiliates of the travel industry besides those communities whose major source of income comes from tourism. Kim Rahan, a traveler from China who bought History of Rohtas Fort on location, told, "This buy is to promote interest of people in travel related vocations."

Too often, deftly executed travelogues or a travel story can accomplish much more than any other promotional activity, particularly a story that combine passion, personality and perspective. Every place has a story (and a history), as they say. If you have a drive to write, there is a need of extensive travel writing. Tell your story.

Smog in Lahore has increased dramatically through the past few years.

Let us blame the increased smog on a combination of different factors like weather, greater use of vehicles and other agents that produce more pollution. Lahore is one of the great cities with huge number of registered vehicles, and many more coming and going every day from out of the city. Due to the concentration of heavy traffic, emissions of smoke and sculpture dioxide and nitrogen oxides are much greater than they are in adjoining rural areas. More so when CNG is not available and everyone has to use petrol. Smog is formed when nitrogen oxides -- mostly from auto emissions -- mix with volatile organic compounds such as gasoline fumes and bake in the sun. More smog this year could cause problems for commuters in general and those who are ill and suffering from diseases like asthma and other chronic lung conditions. Young people are also among those who are at risk.

I start from home when our vibrant and living city is still enveloped in smog from early morning. I need to commute 20 minutes out of Lahore every day. On many mornings, it fails to dissipate till even 10 AM so I start in zero plus visibility. Playing hide and see with the calm puffs of air from plains hung a few hundred feet above the ground, I negotiate oncoming traffic, mostly animal transport, tractors with overloaded trolleys and milkmen on this motorbikes driving into the city. While I try to remain on the edge of the road, praying, I keep wondering on their expertise to drive fearlessly.

Smog chocked Lahore is not climate friendly at all. This thought also comes during rainy season when after a shower the city streets start flowing like torrents.

May be someone someday - at least when 'threats to the democracy' are over - will start thinking about these factors that are badly effecting the residents. May be someone will have time to think about pollution control.