Violence against doctors and violence against women, unfortunately, are two phrases we've heard more often than we probably should have in any other part of the world. A recent incident of violence against a young female medical intern at Lahore's Jinnah Hospital again makes many wonder why is this the case? Is it because we don't realise the true significance of doctors in the lives of common man or is it precisely because we do? Is it because men consider themselves more empowered than women or is it because they are insecure about their power?

Doctors in Pakistan, more so than anywhere else in the world, are an overbearing representation of the educated and apolitical class of the society -- one that goes about its work of helping people irrespective of their social, political or religious leanings. Politicians are accused of doing so on the basis of political affiliations, lawyers on the basis of paying capacities, clergy on the basis of sects and so on and so forth. On some twisted level, an attack on such a class, therefore, makes such complete sense -- as if to say 'here go the best of you'. When the most educated, trusted and respected are targeted, it makes a clear and loud statement that underlines the failure of the state to protect its citizens. A series of doctors murdered in Karachi a couple of years ago, some say, was an obvious and successful attempt at proving just that.

Similarly, acts of violence specifically targeting women spark so much more horror and sense of lawlessness than any other ordinary crime. It is no surprise then that the incident at Jinnah Hospital has once again manifested a failed and flawed system of law and order in Pakistan, and how a few chosen ones are entitled to rise above the law.

It really shouldn't then be startling for us to understand what Haleema (real name withheld on request) went through when she came to her duty at the hospital on 21st of September.

Little did she realiwe that this wasn't like any other day as she proceeded to treat a patient, Allah Rakha, suffering from brain hemorrhage. The strange thing about this patient was not what he was suffering from, but the fact that his attendants -- more than a dozen, had a problem with letting go. Even more strange was the fact that a few of his attendants were bearing arms and had no problem brandishing their firepower -- using this display of brute strength to get their way with the hospital staff who had little basis to doubt the violent predisposition of these strangers.

What reason did this mini army have to be so callous in a place like a hospital? Was it because their patient was not given the care he deserved, or was someone else given preference over him in terms of the attention of the hospital staff, or did the patient suffer in any way due to a doctor's negligence? The answer is no and they behaved this way, simply because they could -- without any fear or apprehension of retribution.

According to eye witnesses, the Medical Unit II at the hospital was not crowded enough for any patient to feel neglected. "The doctors on duty that day, including the ill-fated Haleema, treated everyone the same, exactly the way they always do -- day in and day out."

Then what triggered an incident as horrific as a female doctor being tortured, beaten up, had her clothes torn off, battered beyond recognition and left with physical and mental scars that might never heal?

Death is difficult to understand, comprehend and come to terms with. At times such loss can catalyze extreme behaviour of a nature we are not even aware we are capable of. But those with an unabated license to torment others can simply use their position of power to vent their frustration on unsuspecting individuals with little or no fear of consequence.

Haleema's only fault that day was to be the one to first treat, then try to recover a dying patient and lastly to be the one to inform the violent attendants of the demise of their patient. "Brain hemorrhage is a really serious condition. This patient had suffered from a hemorrhage somewhere in Pattoki and had been brought to the Jinnah Hospital on road. It is next to impossible to save a patient in such a condition. The prognosis of such patients is seldom good, and the likelihood of their survival is usually low," says Dr. Ali, a physician in the same hospital, but from a different ward.

True to Dr. Tahir's understanding, the prognosis carried out by the senior most doctors of the hospital for Allah Rakha was not good -- in other words he needed much more than a caring doctor.

But Allah Rakha was no ordinary patient. He was from a small town near Pattoki -- a central Punjab stronghold of the Nakai clan. Remember Arif Nakai, the one time compromise Punjab Chief Minister? His sons, Asif and Pervez are both elected representatives to the national and provincial legislatures respectively from the same region. By some turn of fate and according to conflicting reports, Allah Rakha was either related to these two legislators or to their gunman -- depending on which source you choose to trust. According to the doctors of Jinnah Hospital he was a direct relative of the Nakais, while Pervez Nakai has gone on record to disclaim having anything to do with Allah Rakha or the incident that transpired on 21st of September. The two brothers have since refused to comment on the incident any further.

Either way, Allah Rakha had powerful friends and as it turned out, it really didn't matter whether the legislators were involved or not, as their gunman wielded enough power on his own to carry out one of the most horrific act of violence against a doctor in the history of the hospital.

According to eyewitnesses, as soon as Haleema announced Alah Rakha's death the gunman and the other attendants on the scene started beating her up mercilessly. They kicked her, tore her clothes up, dragged her on the floor with her hair and beat her head against the wall. In short, they collectively battered and disgraced her in the worst possible way -- only because she happened to be the one treating Allah Rakha. The hospital security was either not around or was simply helpless to protect the young doctor.

By the time doctors from the neighbouring wards reached to the rescue the assailants had already fled the scene. In retaliation, the doctors of Jinnah Hospital resorted to a complete strike for more than 30 hours, burnt tyres and blocked the road in front of the hospital. When a public hospital that caters to such a huge population of Lahore and its adjoining area stays out of service for more than 39 hours, it is a serious matter and puts way too much pressure on the resources of the other hospitals. Despite the matter being this serious and the doctors being so desperate for justice they failed to get an FIR registered against any of the Nakai brothers. An FIR was eventually registered against the gunman, Ijaz, who has still not been arrested.

The medical superintendent of Jinnnah Hospital has, however, promised better security for the doctors in his hospital. Some of the changes being proposed include the installation of CCTV cameras in all the wards, each patient being allowed only one attendant and beefed up security.

Not many are positive that these measures shall make a difference. A feeling of security shall only be restored once everyone is held accountable for his actions -- irrelevant of his social standing. As long as people with power continue to consider themselves above the law no one shall be safe. Haleema and her family might have chosen not to pursue the matter any further for fear of the stigma attached with such incidents, the state and police should make sure that the culprits do not go unpunished.

A recent report published in national press highlighting the dangerous level of arsenic in underground water in the City once again indicates the vulnerability of Lahorites to fatal diseases associated with intake of contaminated water. This has come at a time when the government has been promising provision of safe drinking water to the masses with the help of international donors.

"Arsenic is odourless and tasteless. It enters drinking water supplies when industrial waste mixes with ground water," says Dr Hamid Ansari of Mayo Hospital.

According to the doctor, regular usage of water containing arsenic can cause cancer of bladder, lungs, skin, kidney and liver. While other dangerous effects of arsenic on health include thickening and discoloration of the skin, stomach pain, vomiting, diarrhoea, numbness of hands, paralysis and blindness.

On the source of arsenic in drinking water, some experts at the Punjab University say higher levels of arsenic are found more in water drawn deep from the ground. The demand on this water by municipal systems has caused water levels to drop which may be resulting in the release of arsenic from rock formations.

"Certain fertilisers and industries like copper smelting and coal burning also contribute to generating arsenic in our environment," they say.

Water distribution and sewerage systems of the city are posing a serious threat to public health. People should be guided to adopt judicious use of water and dispose waste safely, to avert the problem to some extent.

Non-compliance of local water distribution system with the international standards is another problem which worsens the situation. "The water system must comply with international standards that provides additional protection to masses but these rules are ignored in our country," says Irfan Basit who owns a locally installed safe water plant at Raiwind Road.

The city district government disinfects water by chlorination and some mechanical filters but these measures are not effective in removing arsenic from water.

On the other hand an official at Wasa laboratory at Outfall Road said that ground water is safe and it's the old and infected supply system which pollutes water. We need urgent replacement of water supply infrastructure in Lahore but it is very expensive. It will take long to replace all the water pipelines in the city, that is why it is not being done.

Lack of coordination with different departments from municipal systems and private drinking water wells may cause water levels to drop and release arsenic from rock formations.

Referring to precautionary measures, Dr Naveed Anjum says, "We do not know of an appropriate treatment of water containing arsenic but water should not be heated or boiled as boiling water can increase the concentration of arsenic in water."

He said some medical tests can indicate level of arsenic in water, then industrial units responsible for water contamination could be shifted to the city outskirts. He said the water filtration plant programme of the government will go a long way to ensure safe provision of water and all international donors are allocating billions of rupees in this regard.

Ground water affects food chain. It can combine with other elements to make chemicals used to preserve wood and to kill insects on cotton and other agricultural crops. Whereas rains transfer arsenic from the air onto the ground, thus contaminating crops and fields.

Giving details of the government initiatives, Data Gunj Bakhsh Town Nazim Tariq Sana Bajwa said the government has been giving high priority to the provision of safe drinking water to all. "The old water supply infrastructure is also one of the main reasons for water contamination in the city. It is because most of the government functionaries responsible for provision of water and for sanitation in the city used to work on ad hoc basis or adopt short-term strategy instead of long-term plans in the past.

"The present government is working on a long term policy for provision of safe drinking water to all till 2007 and we are also replacing the decades old water supply lines in the city," said the Nazim.

A Wasa official says the water source would be a poison if effective measures are not taken to ensure provision of safe water to people. Nadeem Abbas of Ali Industries, manufacturer of quality water filters and plants, said the government should launch awareness campaign in this regard because there are several types of filters that can be used to clean drinking water out of which some are very useful in removing arsenic from drinking water. "Ultra-filtration, reverse osmosis and ion exchange are some of the measures which can be instrumental in removing arsenic from water," he said. Abbas believes safe water can be provided to masses at very reasonable rates by installing small filtration plants in different parts of the city. "We have been working on these lines and results are very encouraging but we need some support from the government to make our programme a success."

The Government of Punjab has come up with a project under which the Excise and Taxation department has started issuing computerised vehicle registration documents and number plates to applicants. Initially, the system has been introduced in Lahore that has approximately 1.6 million vehicles plying its roads. There are plans to extend this service to other larger cities of the province like Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Multan and Bahawalpur by December 2007. The government says it had become imperative to come out with such a solution that could help decrease ever-increasing car thefts, make the vehicle registration system and authorities more efficient, facilitate citizens, ensure transparency in the registration process and make unauthorised duplication impossible.

By the time this report was written, the excise and taxation department was in possession of 900,000 computerised number plates purchased from a German company. The company, the department officials say, was selected for being one of the best in the world in this field. The officials claim that these new number plates have security features that cannot be replicated, causing a blow to the crooks who miss no opportunity to forge documents and use fake number plates.

As the story goes, it was back in late 2003 that the Punjab government decided to opt for a high-tech and transparent system of registering vehicles and issuing number plates. In a strange but pleasant shift from its policy to hire foreign consultants, this time a Pakistani software company Netsol was engaged to work on the project. The Information Technology Department was held responsible for looking after the project and ensuring that it is completed well in time.

Salim Ghauri, Chief Executive Officer (CEO, Netsol Technologies tells The News on Sunday that with the grace of God, his company was able to develop the system within minimum time frame possible. Called Motor Transport Management Information System (MTMIS), the system will make the process of motor registration simple, foolproof and reliable, he adds. Ghauri goes on to say that the MTMIS will be a system used simultaneously by various government departments and law enforcing authorities. For example, he says, it will benefit the vehicle registration authority, local police, district governments, district and traffic police, highway safety and penalty system, urban transport planning and management authority, income tax department, highway development authority and so on.

Some of the unique features of the new number plates are laser identifier, reflecting paint, year of registration mentioned on them, specific colours for different types of vehicles, hot stamping and watermarks, standard sizes, embossed surfaces and so on. The traffic police and other officials would be able to retrieve all the relevant data by reading these number plates with the help of optical character readers (OPRs). Besides, it is quite easy to read the numbers written on these plates with the help of the naked eye, even at night.

The size of the plates for four-wheelers would be 302 x 152 mm either placed on the front or rear. On the other hand, number plates meant for motorcycles would be 202 x 65 mm and 202 x 152 mm in size for the front and rear respectively. With all these features, the plates would cost Rs 500 for a four-wheeler and Rs 350 for a two-wheeler -- quite affordable according to the concerned officials.

SSP Traffic Lahore Waseem Sial tells TNS that the new number plates will bring uniformity in a system where everyone wants to be different from others. "You can see all types of number plates varying in size, fonts, colour of the text and so on. There are those also who are using vehicles with number plates made of cardboard. Many a time it becomes impossible for us to read the number plate of a fast moving vehicle. Now I hope these issues will be taken care of with the introduction of standardised number plates," he adds.

Anyhow, Muhammad Jameel, employed at a shop dealing in number plates, seems dejected. He says though the government is modernising its system for the benefit of the public, it must ensure that people like us do not lose jobs. "I think the government could have engaged private number plate manufacturers in the whole process and shared the proceeds coming from the sale of computerised number plates with them. If it can engage a private courier company for delivery of number plates at clients' homes, why not us," he adds.

Jameel says he has little hope that the system can function properly with the existing Excise and Taxation department staff in control. "All of us know that their computers cease to work every other day, either due to some technical problem or that caused intentionally by some unscrupulous elements. The fate of this system will be no different," he adds.

Under the scheme, will be number plates of different colours for motorcycles and rickshaws, and official and private vehicles. White number plates will be issued for private vehicles, yellow for motorcycles and rickshaws whereas green for official vehicles.

Masood-ul-Haq, Director Excise and Taxation, Lahore Zone C, tells TNS that the project cost has come to around Rs 299 million. He says the department has procured 0.9 million number plates from a German company and plans to sell them to the vehicle owners in Lahore. This would also help recover a large amount spent on purchase of these plates, he adds. Masood says that in the first phase, these plates will be given to those getting their vehicles registered with the department for the first time. However, in the next phase the department will start replacing the number plates being used by the owners of already registered vehicles.

The system is managed by around half a dozen government departments but the excise and taxation department is in the limelight for the reason that it has to deal with the public directly and issue the registration numbers (and now plates also) to them, he concludes.

There are several places in the city where people gather for seminars, conferences, discussions and dialogues. Most of the time it is part of the business -- corporate or NGO but they all gather to put their point across and to learn from each other, to reach to a larger section of society in the hope of finding a solution to common problems and issues concerning them all.

Mostly people have to pay for the place where they hold meetings but there are places where they can meet without that. Parks are one.

Gulshan Iqbal Park: At Gulshan Iqbal Park, Allama Iqbal Town, people come to walk and jog morning and evening. Some of them are quite regular and there is a bond among them. After they are through with their routine exercise, they get together at a central point in the park to sit and talk. "Some fifty people on average gather after the morning walk by 5:30am here everyday and disperse within half an hour. This is a time when they talk about religious issues. Mostly there is a professor who is also a lawyer who gives dars or lecture to these men and women. A group of people again gather around Maghrib," says Muhammad Bilal, the office clerk at the park. Motia plots in the park are liked very much for meetings, he says. This gathering is specially big on Sundays when more people join the group, he says, adding that they seem to be good and peaceful people.

"There is another group that gathers in a plot just close to the main gate that opens in Gulshan Block, in the evening. They have been coming here for a walk since 1982 and most of them live in Allama Iqbal Town. These people have a lot of contribution in the park. They pursued the Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA) which manages the park, to make a jogging track here," he says. Hundreds of people can be seen jogging on this 1850 meter or 2km long track. "Many swings and electric coolers were installed by the PHA on their initiative," he adds.

At least ten thousand people come to this park from 8am to 11pm daily, the contractor of tickets to the park informs. The park opens at 4am in the morning and entry is free till 8am. Many people come to the park during this time but nobody has the count. Those who come regularly to the park twice a day can get special pass for Rs 50 only for the whole month. There are people who are sick and come to the park as part of their necessary intake of fresh air. Their entry is free.

Khawaja Naheed Qamar, veteran politician and a real estate businessman, also comes for walk here. "There are some poets among the people who gather every evening at the Gulshan Iqbal Park. People who gather here talk on varied topics like marriage, health, even palmistry but most of all it is a business point for many," he says. "Sixty percent of the people who come here are over 40 years of age. There are some young girls who come here to lose weight. Some sportsmen come regularly as well."

According to a government notification, entrance of senior citizens to public parks and libraries is free and they enjoy exemption from queuing at banks but is it so in practice? ask two senior citizens at the park. "Entrance to public parks should be free for everyone like in European countries," says Baig Saheb who is coming to this park for three decades now. Regular visitors to other parks like Model Town Park and Bagh-e-Jinnah also sit together after their walk and exchange views.

There are other places as well in the City where people have been meeting for free or are charged nominally for the place. Here are two such places.

Nehar Ghar: This house was built by Rasheeda and Chaudhry Muhammad Ahsan in 1930 who lived here. Chaudhry Ahsan died in 1989 and Rasheeda in 2001. There was one proposal to give it on rent, another to lend it for meetings and for holding free art exhibitions. People have met here from different walks of life to discuss and find solutions to civic issues free of cost. Many art exhibitions have been held here and are still being held. At present Nehar Ghar houses a trust office which provides legal aid to people who can't afford it and a free school (operating since three years) which is giving education to 100 children.

Kisan Hall: Rana Maqbool Hussain (Advocate) made this hall in 1971. The idea was to facilitate meetings of trade unions in various sectors. Mirza Ibrahim and Haji Anwar Rasheed who ran a social welfare organisation, also lent a helping hand in the making of this hall. It had become a centre of secular left politics by '77.

Rana Maqbool's son Rana Zia Abdurehman (Advocate) says, "In the beginning Bhashani's office was here. When NAP split into two and ANP came into being, their office was also here. BNP office was here in 82-83. Bhashani, Wali Khan, Bizenjo, Akmal Khattak, Nasim Wali, Ataullah Mengal and Ghaus Bakhsh Marri have all delivered speeches here.

"The place gained importance during Ziaul Haq's reign when people would not get a place to gather and my father offered this hall for all kinds of gatherings. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's first death anniversary was observed in Kisan Hall. It was a time when the party did not get a place anywhere. The then government warned us not to hold such meetings here."

The hall used to be very basic in the beginning. In 1990 it went through reconstruction. During this time its verandah was used for meetings, which were never stopped. At this time Tehreek-e-Istaqlal's office was here when Omar Asghar Khan formed a party, the verandah was used for all the activities.

People's Publishing House is next to Kisan Hall and is Zia's tenant. The owners have plans to open a library next to Kisan Hall for the benefit of people.

"In 2002, after the death of my father, I got the hall totally reconstructed. On July 31, 2003 Air Marshal Asghar Khan inaugurated the hall. People who hold the same ideology as those active in the past here, keep doing something or the other here. We charge only electricity bill and for the upkeep of the hall. Its quite nominal. These days a regular feature is Sheikh Allah Ditta Saheb's lecture every Sunday between 7am and 9pm. He is an enlightened man. Five to six functions are held in a month here but there should be more." Zia vows to keep up the legacy of his father and encourage people to gather at this place for a common cause, for the good of the people at large.

Patras Bokhari once made an observation about the American people that no society had a greater number of organisations and nowhere did people meet on so many different levels as in America. He made this observation before the second world war. We can see that no government in America can ignore the public opinion. So we must meet to find solution to our common problems on as many levels as possible.

Whenever I read in the newspaper or hear on television that Ferozepur road or the canal roads will be improved I have a near heart attack. It is not that I feel envious of those who use Ferozepur road or who live there, or I am against the free flow of traffic on the fast lanes down the canal, and least of all that I do not want my beloved city of Lahore to become the Paris of the East, it is only that the improvement of the main lanes and roads correspondingly effects the adjacent localities adversely.

I live in Shah Jamal -- have been living there for nearly forty years. I have seen the idyllic locality turn into a commercial hub. The colony with its varying levels, once the envy of architects has turned into a nightmare for the malfunctioning of sewer and drainage system.

The trouble is caused to a great degree by the improvement of the two roads, Ferozepur and the canal, which hem the colony. Both the roads have been widened repeatedly in the many attempts at improvement, and more devastatingly still, every plan has involved raising the level of these roads. In the last forty odd years the two roads must have been raised by more than three feet turning the area between the two fast lanes into a virtual pit.

As the road level rises the already constructed houses, especially those built decades ago, appear to be built in a ditch. This results in a continuous exercise of raising the level of the gates and the driveways for fear of any rainwater flowing into the houses.

The result is not hard to imagine -- a little rain and water from both sides, the canal and Ferozepur road, rushes inwards and forms a pool at the centre of Shah Jamal roundabout. If it rains an inch on the meteorological department's chart, there is at least three feet of water on this road. We are left to derive satisfaction from the assurance of Wasa and the other city government authorities that whereas earlier it took this water two days to drain out now it takes about a day to clear.

These days there is again talk of making Ferozepur road a model road and the Canal road too will be expanded by one lane if not two after many of the trees are felled. What will become of the residents of Shah Jamal is anybody's guess. It seems we have become the unwitting and forgotten victims of improvement and development of the city's fast lanes.

There is yet another grandiose and probably unworkable plan to build a ring road right through the centre of the city -- Ferozepur road. This road is supposed to ring the city will be built on an elevated plane. From the Shama Chowk to the General Hospital or beyond an elevated road will form one portion of the famous and much touted Lahore Ring Road plan. What it will mean to those who live and have businesses on Ferozepur Road and the adjoining localities is not hard to imagine. Most likely it will cause more hardship to the ones who are already suffering in the name of improvement and a model traffic plan.

These days the Shah Jamal road is being widened with the name of a minister displayed on a number of boards fixed along this small stretch of road. The immediate consequence has been the choking of the sewer lines. When I went to see the superintendent engineer, Punjab Highways, the executive officer of the plan, he was taken aback when enquired about the details of his scheme. He told me very pompously that proper drainage plan had been incorporated in the design. When I looked at the plan I knew it was a faulty one because the drainage of water is from the point where already three feet of water collects with an inch of rain. I wonder why any plan regarding a part of the city when initiated does not involve the residents of that area for they are probably in the best position to offer workable suggestions.

We had somehow presumed that it was 'safe' to eat pakoras during the first few days of Ramzan -- safe to have them post iftar of course. Everyone expected the pakora fryers to start off with fresh oil, even if they were unlikely to discard the oil after that many dips. This was probably why the pakoras get darker later on in the month, by which time people are used to carrying heavy un-disposable items on them.

The myth has been broken by none other than our supposedly idle officials whose brief is to ensure hygienic food for us all. Just on the fourth day of the Holy Month, a team headed by a special magistrate on the direction of a DPO (district pakora officer?) caught six pakora wallas using what has been described in a news item as kaala tale or black oil.

The news item didn't specify what this kaala tale entails for consumers or what it actually is, but someone used to seeing things in black and white and used to give everything an even more sinister touch tells us that it is actually used motor oil -- that is oil which is too dangerous for our cars and has to be replaced with fresh oil. Others chip in that this use of motor oil as an alternative to edible oil is not a recent innovation. It is routine in the city and given Lahoris love for fried items, no one from amongst can claim to have not tasted this particular culinary delicacy. It is hard to tell since all pakoras taste the same. Yes they taste the same.

The action by the able officials limits our choice of sizzlers for the rest of the month. At the same time it has to be hailed because tricksters are a slippery variety and seldom caught by law. To prove just how unlucky the six pakora wallas are there is this amusing story of a gentleman who managed to serve the Punjab government in several extremely paying positions for ten long years without a formal appointment. The man was working in a private organisation and through a stroke of genius got himself a 'deputation' with the Local Government Department, according to details provided in a news report. Over the next decade, he is said to have made billions before he was finally found out. At the time of his arrest, he was working as the town officer (regulation) in Data Ganj Bakhsh Town. His ganj or treasure includes several branches of a well known tuition academy which guaranteed success to all who enrolled there and a few cars that guaranteed luxury and status.

It is a pity that the gentleman has been nabbed. Money-makers always fascinate us and the longer a trick lasts, the bigger is the legend associated with it. And then we need people who can expose just how inefficient the system here has become. Ten years of hoodwinking the authorities is fine but a few years more would have made the story more entertaining. Luckily, others are yet to be discovered. Know the man who has been frying his pakoras in the same blackened oil for the last eleven years?