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crisis MOOD STREET Town
Talk encroachment Break
time By Minahi Zafar TThe Lahore University of Management Sciences Model United Nations Society (LUMUN) hosts a Model UN conference every year, simulating the committees of the United Nations. Delegations from schools from across Pakistan and the world attend the conference representing different countries. These delegates sit through the committee sessions and discuss pressing issues of the day and draft resolutions based on the stance of their respective countries. This year’s conference, held from December 22 to 26, 2010, celebrated the UN International Year of Youth. The theme, ‘Our World, Our Future’, lived up to LUMUN’s legacy of bringing together the largest student-based conference in Asia.
Gas what? Lack of forum to raise voice puts domestic consumers at a disadvantage
By Shahzada Irfan Ahmed
SSaleem Khan, a restaurant owner near Lorry Adda along Bund Road, has seen a steep fall in his sales. His customers, mostly those related to transport sector, are always in a hurry and can’t wait for ages to see food cooked for them. Earlier, they would throng to this place for the quality of food and the swiftness of his staff in serving it. But due to the persistent supply of low-pressure natural gas, the situation has reversed. Saleem is affected mainly for the reason that his
restaurant timings start at night and end around 8 a.m. in the morning.
Unfortunately, these are the hours when gas supply to domestic and informal
businesses is reduced or suspended altogether. Unlike domestic customers, Saleem cannot shift immediately to Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) in the absence of Sui gas. "I can’t change my whole set up as this situation prevails for a couple of weeks only," he says adding incurring this conversion cost is not at all feasible for him. He says he has bought LNG, the price of which has shot up to Rs125 per kg from Rs70 to Rs80 per kg a couple of weeks ago. Like him there are countless others who are suffering due to this mismanagement of gas authorities. Several protests were held last week in the city against this gas loadshedding which happens mostly in the morning and evening. The areas affected the most include Allama Iqbal Town, Gulberg, Kot Lakhpat, Bostan Colony, Gowala Colony, New Jail Road, Ghazi Road, Chungi Amar Sadhu, Garhi Shahu, Nishtar Colony, Awan Town, Madina Colony, Samanabad, Bund Road, Walton and Rajgarh. Haji Javed, a PML-N office-bearer in China Scheme, Shadbagh, gives a political colour to the problem. He says Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) is intentionally punishing residents of Punjab "for the love and respect they have for Mian Nawaz Sharif." He says the PPP government has appointed its loyalist Mian Misbah-ur-Rehman as chairman of the corporation. This person is also an industrialist; that’s why he has obliged the industry at the cost of domestic consumers. Javed says he has talked to SNGPL officials who say they cannot ensure regular supply due to gap in demand-supply situation. He says the officials claim there is a demand of 500 million cubic feet gas against production of 200 million cubic feet gas. "My question is why don’t they ask the industry to sacrifice for the greater benefit of domestic customers." Javed’s assertion holds ground as according to the gas distribution formula approved by the federal government, domestic consumers shall be given top priority regarding provision of gas under the gas load management plan. He laments domestic consumers have no common forum from where they can lodge protests. Industrialists, CNG owners, commercial users etc, on the other hand, have a clout and are in a position to pressurise the government. Atif Saleem, a resident of Garhi Shahu, tells TNS that the suspension of gas supply may also result in fatalities. When the supply is restored after suspension the gas may start leaking if the knob of the stove is not turned off properly. An unaware housemaid may catch fire in case she ignites a match stick in the kitchen. When approached by TNS, SNGPL spokesman Babar Saghir says he’s been ill for the last 10 days and not in a position to comment on the current situation. On insistence, he says he will call back shortly but neither did he do that or attend the call. However, another SNGPL official tells TNS there’s no
politics involved in supply of natural gas to the people of Punjab,
especially Lahore. In fact, he says the gas supply available for domestic
users in Lahore is hardly 1,900 million cubic feet gas as against the demand
of 2,800 million cubic feet. He also dispels fears about fatalities in case of gas supply suspension and restoration. He says natural gas, also called methane, is odorless. Prior to its distribution, he says, a harmless odorant is added to it to make people aware of leakages, if any. Secondly, he says, people must realise it’s suicidal to leave kitchen, bedroom, living room etc without extinguishing fires running on natural gas. Referring to statement given by SNGPL GM (Sales) and carried by the press, he says supply of gas to CNG stations is also a cause of reduced gas supply to domestic users. He says when these stations are off there are no complaints from domestic users. Explaining the reason, he says, the problem starts when compressors of filling stations are switched on. "When we request the CNG station owners to close down for two days they shut them down indefinitely and hold protests. In this situation, we do not have any other option but to restore gas supply to them." All Pakistan CNG Association’s Supreme Council Chairman Ghayas Abdullah Paracha tells TNS that CNG stations are no way responsible for the problems faced by domestic consumers. In fact, the provision of gas to industry during the three months of winter is the main issue. He says the industrial demand for gas is 675 million cubic feet as compared to 130 million cubic feet of CNG stations. "We have agreed to accept 70 million cubic feet gas but the industry is reluctant to part with any." He says Punjab CM raised the issue of gas supply to industry during winters. It seems he was unaware of the fact that this would come at the cost of domestic consumers and CNG users. "We are holding a protest in front of the parliament on Jan 4 to get our demands heard."
Do away with tea trolleys By Anum Imran Picture this: A room full of tense air, with two families
sitting opposite each other, exchanging small talk and strained smiles. In
walks ‘the’ girl with a trolley. Let’s call her Sarah for the purpose
of this article. Sarah serves tea to all present, amidst observant eyes. She’s
nervous and tense but tries to maintain a calm demeanor so as not to make a
fool of herself. The groom’s family asks her questions, to which simple ‘yes’
and ‘no’ and ‘jee aunty’ answers suffice. Marriages in Pakistan are traditional and follow customs handed down from generation to generation. One such tradition is that of the groom’s family going to the bride’s house to see the potential bride. The serving of the tea by the bride-to-be symbolises her obedience and domesticity. Disclaimer: do not blame the tea trolley if the bride turns out to be neither obedient nor domestic. The tea trolley tradition was an important component of the marriage traditions. Now, however, this tradition is fast becoming obsolete. With girls asking questions like, ‘why should we be the ones serving chai and not the guy’, the rolling in of trolleys is diminishing. They consider it embarrassing to be scrutinised by the other family and then rejected or accepted on the basis of one meeting over tea. "If a girl can catwalk gracefully in high heels and handle her dupatta while pouring tea that still does not make her ideal daughter-in-law material," says Maryam Cheema, a student at York. "What should matter is her knowledge about things happening around her and world issues." However, Raazia Anwar, a housewife who likes to play matchmaker, presents a completely different view. According to her, the future in-laws assess the girl in a lot of ways. "The serving etiquette, grace and posture, and speaking mannerisms are all noted." This proves the myth of ‘aunties’ having a mental checklist via which they gauge a girl. Appearance check; height check; weight check; spilling a drop of tea while pouring…Rejected! Supporters of the tea trolley tradition see its usefulness in getting to meet the family and the girl and seeing the family setup. But the new wave of feminism threatens to sweep this tradition away. Young girls like Zainab Mehmood, a second year student at LSE and a feminist at heart, want to break free of the image of the conventional Pakistani bride who is more like a domestic supermodel in the fantasies of would be mother-in-laws. We are all more or less familiar with this scenario of bringing ‘rishtas’ to the bride’s house. However, in all the stories we hear the focus in on the girl. Sarah was wearing this, or said that and felt this way or that way. The question then arises, what about the groom? He was also present there but rarely do people shed light on the sheer awkwardness that he has to go through. "Look at our boy, he’s so ‘shareef’, he doesn’t smoke or stay out late and is so respectful of his elders", the mother starts giving a monologue about just how wonderful her son is. And the son (let’s call him Ali) is shifting in embarrassment. Ali feels like he’s up for sale, and according to his mother, the number of embarrassing anecdotes is directly proportional to his price. The other side of the story, though underplayed, is still there. The tea trolley tradition, as it is sometimes referred to, is equally disliked by both the potential bride and the groom. Ali also has to go through scrutiny from the bride’s family. He is bombarded with questions about his qualifications and job. It can be a more grueling process than a job interview. Omair Raza, a recent graduate from UET, quotes an incident where his friend’s mother started telling the bride’s family about how good her son was because all he liked was food prepared by his mother’s hands. While the bride’s family nodded in appreciation, the groom just wanted the floor to open and swallow him whole. Therefore, before being quick to sympathise with the Sarahs of the world we should also take a look at Ali and see that he is not much of a supporter of the tea trolley tradition either. Fewer families follow the conventional way of this tradition now. These days, the girl and the guy both sit with their families and get to know each other in a comfortable environment. There is no formal entry of the bride-to-be walking the ramp to marital bliss. Or the groom being presented as an angelic being, gift wrapped complete with a huge shiny bow.
*Book Launch: ‘Beyond Crisis: Re-evaluating Pakistan’
at Hast-o-Neest Centre for Traditional Art and Culture, 10 Commercial
Building at the corner of Anarkali and The Mall; former Croweaters Gallery
near Tollington, today at 3:00pm. ‘Beyond Crisis’ is edited by Naveeda
Khan who teaches anthropology at Johns Hopkins University. *1st International Conference on Business Management at University of Management and Technology, Lahore on Jan 5-6. *3rd International Conference on Sustainable Building Design in South Asia: Past, Present and the Future on Jan 9-10 at National College of Arts Lahore. *Shaer ki Baat: Understanding poetry with Dr. Arfa Syeda at Faiz Ghar on Wednesday, Jan 5 from 5:00-6:00pm. *Maozue Sukhan: Students pay homage to Faiz on Sat, Jan 8 at Faiz Ghar. Timing: 11:00am-12:30pm. *Documentary Film: Egypt at Faiz Ghar on Sat, Jan 08 from 4:00-5:00pm. *Free Science Film Show at National Museum of Science and Technology on GT Road every Friday at 2:30pm.
Show of authority PHA turns a decades-old children’s park into a commercial nursery By Tariq Iqbal Children’s Park, situated in N Block of Samanabad near the 3rd roundabout, is just like home ground to hundreds of families living in its vicinity. Adjacent to the Doongi Ground and the Government Central Model Higher Secondary School for boys, this park measuring around 10 acres was built in 1963. Two generations have grown up playing in this ground. Proper seats for visitors, cradles for children, lighting
and other facilities were available here till it remained under the control
of Metropolitan Corporation of Lahore (MCL). But after the formation of Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA), its control was transferred to this body which neglected it altogether. No development work was done here despite repeated demands made by locals. As if this was not enough, the PHA started moving its plants nursery here from Doongi Ground in September. The number of plants and saplings moved here has swelled to almost 300,000, squeezing space not only for playing children but also for women and old people coming for morning and evening walk, says Nadeem Zia, a resident of N Block.. He tells TNS that PHA has covered three-fourth of the park with plants. This has led to enormous growth of mosquito population in the area. Plants are watered all the time which has raised the risk of dengue virus, adds Nadeem. He says local people have filed an application with the Secretary Housing and Physical Planning Department (H&PP) bearing reference no. 4277 P. In this application they have sought help from the department which oversees functioning of LDA, PHA and all Development Authorities of Punjab. Asif Iqbal, another resident says, quarrels between residents and PHA staff have become a common feature. When children come near the plants, the staff stops them and even uses abusive language if they do not abide. These children go home and use the same language in turn with elders who use equally abusive language with PHA staff, he adds. Muhammad Gulraiz, a regular visitor to the park, tells TNS that PHA already has three main nurseries situated in Thokar Niaz Baig, Jallo Park and Gulberg in Lahore. Then why do they need another one at the cost of public comfort. He says it seems the authority wants to save transportation costs. If yes, then why don’t they convert the land at their disposal in Race Course Park into a nursery? They would never dare to as its next to GOR, the habitat of all powerful bureaucracy and ministers. He says it is binding on PHA to intimate people about their plans in advance and seek people’s consent in turn. They have no right to misuse public space as their personal property. "We have seen lot of public interest litigations in similar cases over the recent past. The decisions mostly have gone in favour of citizens." Another problem cited by the people is severe noise pollution caused by loading and unloading of tractor trollies. These have no specific time of coming and going, they blow horns and block the roads which disturb not only residents of the area but the school-going children as well. The children studying in the school adjacent to the park cannot concentrate, the locals complain. A question that comes to mind is that on one hand Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif is cleaning the city by taking steps like moving Lorry Adda to Kala Shah Kaku and on the other he has not taken notice of this strange step taken by PHA. PHA Deputy Director Javed Shaida, also the spokesperson, is not ready to accept that this issue is worth covering in the media. He also refuses to give any comments on grounds that there is an official direction to all PHA staff not to talk to media. If he’s to be believed, the media relations department of PHA stands redundant. On the other hand, PHA Director Dr Yaqoob Chaudhry has no qualms in talking to TNS on record. He says the nursery which was situated in Gym Club ground near 3rd round- about of Samanabad was shifted here a couple of months back. The reason he says was that sunshine did not reach there and the growing number of plants were hard to accommodate there. He says on public complaints, he asked his subordinate staff to start shifting some of the plants back to the original place. "Our plan is to clean half the park of plants and leave that place for children to play." He says PHA does take care of people’s complaints and that’s why they have just repaired the gate and lights of the park. Khalid Ahmad Khan, ex-councilor of N Block Samanabad, is not content with this plan and wants all the nursery plants removed from the park. He says if PHA does not take the desired action, they will approach the court.
Certain works come to a halt or slow down with Muharram while others gain momentum By Taimoor Hassan Alvi Mohammad Raja is a barber by profession. Throughout the
year people throng his shop. He earns a reasonable amount that is enough to
address his daily outlays. But during Muharram-ul-Haram there comes a
considerable drop in the number of his customers and at times he has no work
the whole day especially on the day of Ashura. So he has to hunt for some
other work and the best work he can do in these days is cooking. During Muharram, especially in the early days, marriages, singing, night parties, functions, shopping centre, beauty saloons and banquet halls are willfully brought to a halt. As a consequence the people associated with these works either stop working or have to take up some other work for the time being. It is a month sacred not only for Muslims but equally solemnised by all communities as a month to commemorate the great sacrifice of Hazrat Imam Hussain (A.S). Raja is a familial barber. He learnt the art of cooking from his grandfather. As a part-time business he usually clings to it throughout the year but with the arrival of Muharram and Safar both the works see a noticeable change. He terms it Hawai Rozi (income by chance). For people like Raja, whose lives revolve around works based on daily wages; this month leaves a drastic impact on their lives. They have to go for some other means of livelihood. Raja says that he spends these days engaged in cooking Daigs. "I earn Rs.1000 to 1500 daily from my shop. While on the other hand I take Rs500 per daig, and one daig takes only one and a half hour which sometime becomes far more profitable than hair-cutting and shaving. While cooking and hair-cutting take equal time there is a huge difference in returns. Cooking is especially profitable in Muharram, as the demand for daigs increases I also bring my charges up," he says, adding cooking is easier as compared to hair-cutting and shaving." Everybody is not fortunate enough like Raja. Those who are
not versatile, have to engage in petty chores. For instance Muhammad Ghafoor,
42, father of four, is an illiterate person and the only bread winner of his
family. He is a member of a local musical band and a part-time vendor. As the
sacred month of Muharram arrives, he has to keep musical band off for some
days and only sticks to roaming around the streets to sell vegetables and
fruits at times. Another business which is affected in this month is of letting buses and flying-coaches on rent. People in this business say that during the routine days their vehicles are hired for marriages but in Muharram vehicles are mostly booked for visiting far off shrines. This year as December holidays fall along with Muharram, people are hiring vehicles to visit southern areas of the country to spend holidays and to enjoy snowfall. For the marriage hall owners, these holidays come at an ideal time for maintenance work in their halls. Chand Malik, a banquet hall owner says that during these holidays we prepare our halls for the season to follow, as wedding season starts with the arrival of Rabiul Awwal. Our halls remain booked for the rest of the year so this is the time when we paint our rooms, buy new furniture and decorate the halls. Nasir Durrani, 20, a vocalist says, "In routine days I perform in birthdays, marriage parties and other functions and take Rs5000 to 8000 per function but as Muharram arrives I stop singing as respect for this month demands and start nauha khani." Muhammad Ghafoor, 40, head of a private military musical band located at Outfall Road, says that most of his musicians come from rural areas. "They spend these holidays in their houses and there they engage themselves in their household works while I stay at my home and as these are the only annual holidays for us." This is the case of little workers but the story of those who wield the scepter is unlike these workers. Same is the case of jewellers, beauty saloon owners and heads of musical band and all others who earn substantially, just have to wait for the works to be start again. Though Muharram deprives these workers of their jobs yet it provides them a chance to spend time with their families, which many of them don’t get round the year.
Some grueling debate and intense diplomacy took place at Annual Model UN conference at LUMS By Minahi Zafar TThe Lahore University of Management Sciences Model United Nations Society (LUMUN) hosts a Model UN conference every year, simulating the committees of the United Nations. Delegations from schools from across Pakistan and the world attend the conference representing different countries. These delegates sit through the committee sessions and discuss pressing issues of the day and draft resolutions based on the stance of their respective countries. This year’s conference, held from December 22 to 26, 2010, celebrated the UN International Year of Youth. The theme, ‘Our World, Our Future’, lived up to LUMUN’s legacy of bringing together the largest student-based conference in Asia. The opening ceremony had Ahmed Rashid, Pakistani journalist and author of The New York Times bestseller ‘Taliban’ as the chief guest, along with ambassador Shahryar Khan, patron of LUMUN and Syed Babar Ali, founder of LUMS and former finance minister of Pakistan. They drew on their personal experiences and shared inspirational words with the delegates present. The committees simulated included eight committees of the General Assembly including DISEC, SOCHUM, SPECPOL, UNDP, UNIFEM, UNEP, UNHCR and UNHRC, two specialised agencies including UN Programme on Youth and Project-Based Committee for the Rehabilitation of Flood Victims in Pakistan, and six other committees including, UNSC, WTO, IAEA, WHO, HGA and ICJ. Topics discussed included Nuclear Proliferation in the Disarmament and International Security Committee, Conventions on the Rights of the Child in Social Cultural and Humanitarian Committee etc. In the Security Council, the delegates debated on the inclusion of India as the sixth permanent member of the Security Council. In the Project Committee, a report was formulated for state and non-state actors working in various capacities for flood relief etc. Each committee came up with comprehensive draft resolutions on the issues discussed. After a long day of sessions comprising grueling debate and intense diplomacy, the social events proved to be a breather for both the delegates and the management of LUMUN. The first event was the conventional ‘Global Village’ where all delegations set up stalls representing their countries to bring together the entire world under one roof. The stall by the delegation from Kenya was recognised as the best out of the lot. On the second night, the delegates hummed to the songs of Atif Aslam whose improvisation on stage had everyone on their feet. The annual dinner was themed ‘From Babur to Aurangzeb’ with the décor displaying the grandeur and magnificence of the Mughal era. The delegates diligently followed the theme and enjoyed the traditional food thoroughly. Since LUMUN has expanded immensely over the years, much effort was put into improving the quality of the conference. A ‘Diplomatic Meet’ was arranged where various ambassadors and UN representatives including Iqbal Riza, who had served as chef de cabinet to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, Asim Iftikhan Ahmad, Hashmi Khalil, Ambassador Javed Hussain, Ambassador Iqbal Ahmad etc. held an interactive session with the delegates. Another in-conference event was the Global Zero Movie Premier of ‘Countdown to Zero’, a fascinating exploration of the dangers of nuclear weapons. An interactive video conferencing session was also held with Matt Brown, coordinator of Global Zero who talked about the Global Zero Movement and how imperative student activism was for this cause. The LUMUN Social Responsibility Program (SRP) was also incorporated in the conference schedule with the E1 Grand Prix, a cycling race between committees, and an SRP Boot Camp held on the third day of the conference. The latter had Mudassir Zia, founder of Message Welfare Trust, brief the students on how to set up their own community service programmes. A session called ‘Meet your Inspiration’ was conducted by Bilal Tanweer, member of the humanities faculty at LUMS and Junaid Ahmad, member of the law and policy faculty, which was highly appreciated by the delegates. The French Ambassador to Pakistan, Daniel Jouanneau, was invited as the chief guest to the closing ceremony of the conference. He gave a motivational speech in line with the theme of the conference and discussed many issues including the war in Palestine and Kashmir, briefing the delegates about the French government’s stance on the issues. This was followed by speeches from the President of LUMUN, the Secretary General and Director General for the conference. Each committee chair then announced the awards for ‘Outstanding Diplomacy’ in their respective committees. Lahore School of Economics secured eight out of ten awards bagging the ‘Best Delegation’ trophy for LUMUN 2010 for the first time.
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