grounds
Home to mosquitoes

Draining rain water from parks is a challenge
By Sajid Bas-hir
While the government is sending missions to private residences to hunt for dengue larvae, it appears oblivious to the rain water accumulating in the parks which have become perfect breeding grounds for dengue. 

 

MOOD STREET
A future on fire
By Dr Sania Chaudhry
On the night of Sunday, September 16, 2012, our car was parked in front of a bakery in the commercial area of phase 1 DHA where my family and I were doing the grocery. As we headed back, we saw a restaurant burst into flames less than 50 yards ahead of us.  

 

TOWN TALK
*Play: Chupen tu Pehlan on the ocassion of 105th birthday of Baghat Singh from September 24-26 at Alhamra Hall No.2, The Mall. The Play is directed by Malik Aslam. 

 

labour
Unnatural bond

Kiln workers celebrate Sept 18 every year as the day when the Supreme Court gave them a favourable decision. Have things changed for them since then?
By Shahzada Irfan Ahmed
They sit in the stairs of a jam-packed Alhamra Hall. At one moment they look at the audience, rocking to the tunes of music played by Laal Band and try to grasp the meaning of what the vocalist is trying to convey. They are dead sure he is saying something meaningful which warrants the applause he is getting.

 

Entertainment, education, inspiration
International Children’s Film Festival at the Ali Institute was a great idea that must become a regular annual event
By Rubia Moghees
Children’s films draw their inspiration from the countless human emotions, creativity and use of animations that complement the concepts so that they are well understood by the younger generation. The ambition of such films is to highlight the moral values, provoke imagination and entertain.  



Musical farce

The play ‘Lend me a tenor’ provided viewers with good laughter
By Aamir Tariq Khan
A paradigm shift from Neil Simon’s ‘The Odd Couple’, B Theatre seems to be on a roll this summer as well. When a Broadway executed performance lightens the stage at Alhamra, it’s a pleasure to sit back seeing a Ken Ludwig’s creation in Pakistan. This five day venture not only attracted a large number of audiences but was a first rate musical farce directed by Awais Azhar.

 

Nothing in nature is useless: Wheat stubs used in paper making, are burnt here after harvest.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

grounds
Home to mosquitoes
Draining rain water from parks is a challenge

While the government is sending missions to private residences to hunt for dengue larvae, it appears oblivious to the rain water accumulating in the parks which have become perfect breeding grounds for dengue.

At places, it takes more than three days for the water to disappear because most grounds in the residential areas are below road level. There are 1,260 small and big parks in the nine towns of the city.

The post-monsoon season is considered a peak season for mosquito breeding. This is the time when there is significant increase in cases of dengue fever and malaria patients. So far, the city hospitals have received 116 dengue patients this season.

Health experts say that fogging and spray process for dengue mosquito would not be effective until all the mosquito breeding sites are eliminated. They say that first the rain water has to be drained out from all the parks and low-lying areas and then spraying should be carried out. It normally takes 48 hours for dengue larvae to become an adult, so the water has to be cleared from the low-lying areas and parks in less than two days.

Normally, the water accumulated in the parks remains fresh and clean for three to four days which helps the growth of dengue larvae and later on malarial mosquito.

Majority of the residents of these areas complain that the officials of Town Municipal Administrations, Wasa and PHA never bother to visit their localities during the entire monsoon season due to which the rain water remains in area parks for months. They say that a number of complaints have been forwarded to the authorities concerned in this regard but to no avail.

Abdullah Bhatti, a resident of Township, says that every year after the monsoons, the park in front of his house is converted into a water pond and stagnating rain water remains there for many months as the Wasa officials never visit the area despite repeated complaints. Residents of this area have a history of different diseases because of filthy rain water.

District Coordination Officer (DCO) Lahore Noor ul Ameen says he has directed the MD Wasa, PHA and TMAs’ officials to drain rain water from the city parks in the next few days. “It is not possible to drain rain water from every low-lying area and ponds but parks can be drained without delay. A ninety member team has been constituted to carry out spraying in all the towns of the city. The team would cover one town daily and PHA, TMA and the district government officials would also coordinate with them for this,” the DCO says.

MD Wasa Mian Abdullah says that earlier it was Wasa’s liability to drain out rain water from the parks but now, as all the parks are under PHA, it would take care of them in all matters. “The department has not enough funds, especially to drain out rain water from the city parks. The DCO and DG PHA have been informed that rain water will be drained out by the PHA authorities from now on,” he says.

A spokesman for PHA says the Authority is doing its best to maintain the beauty of the city. “Basically, it was the job of Wasa to drain out accumulated rain water from the parks but now that they have asked the DCO Lahore to hand over the sole responsibility of the parks to PHA, it’s the PHA’s job now. All the town officers of PHA have already started draining out rain water in their respective area parks and hope to clear rain water within the next two days.”

It is difficult to maintain plants in parks in the rainy season as water accumulation badly affects plants. He says that PHA workers in coordination with district government officers would try their level best to clear the rain water so that water-borne diseases could be controlled.

Amir Butt, coordinator Punjab Urban Resource Centre, says that mechanical method for rain water drainage is a time and resource-consuming job. “Rain water collection can be controlled through proper landscaping of parks,” he says.

 

 

   

  MOOD STREET
A future on fire

On the night of Sunday, September 16, 2012, our car was parked in front of a bakery in the commercial area of phase 1 DHA where my family and I were doing the grocery. As we headed back, we saw a restaurant burst into flames less than 50 yards ahead of us.

It was impossible to make out how the fire started. All we could see from our distance was a building lit aflame. The blaze got thicker and bigger as it engulfed the greater part of the floors above. Visitors started evacuating the area immediately as cars started to exit from the choked streets. Grey clouds of smoke and smell of burnt ash was beginning to spread in the vicinity.

The shock of seeing a building go on fire was a novel experience for all of us. We prayed that nobody was stuck in the fire or injured but at this moment there was no way of finding out.

From where we could see the inferno, the business was going on as usual in the adjacent shops. Little boys were serving orders of cold drinks, paan and cigarette to clients in cars parked alongside us. Conversing with one of these young stewards, it was revealed that the same building had been on fire some months ago; no wonder the neighbourhood seemed well-rehearsed for this untoward situation. There was little panic and chaos as would have been expected in a similar situation.

We were informed that the Fire Brigade as well as Rescue 1122 had been called and that assistance was on the way; soon we were asked to evacuate the area to make way for emergency assistance unit vehicles. 

When we reached home, we switched on the television to see if there was any news on the fire incident, hoping there were no casualties. In about half an hour, one of the local channels telecast footage of the unfortunate event. Fire-fighting units were actively trying to control the blaze. However, there was no news of any one hurt or injured.

We went back to revisit the site the next evening and were surprised to find that business of the restaurant was on as usual. The burnt fittings of the shop housing the restaurant were all lying in a heap on the pavement of the parking area. The makeshift arrangement for cooking had been set up in the small walkway in front of the shop encroaching upon the car parking for the commercial unit. Even a fire could not stop the workers from earning their daily bread and butter.

 The restaurant is in the middle of a festive food service block which comes to life every evening as customers flock in after a busy day’s work. Thousands of residents of adjacent areas feast on the gourmet gastronomic offerings being served both inside as well as in the comfort of their cars. The structure and design of the commercial area perhaps did not envisage the evolution of a mini Food Street which is a victim of a constant parking crunch.

The same restaurant bursting into flames twice in a short span of time raises a lot of questions regarding the public safety standards.

According to international standards, no commercial organisation can start operations unless a fire safety certificate is obtained from authorised fire safety regulating authorities. The minimum fire safety regulations that need to be met include a tedious detail envisaging structure, building material, furniture and fittings; compartmentalisation once there is an outbreak of a fire; the number of people allowed within the premises with specific fire protection arrangement; the presence of fire smoke alarms, sprinklers and extinguishers; carrying out of regular fire safety drills; periodic certification that all fire safety equipment is in pristine working conditions along with staff trained to use it.

Do we have any specific fire safety regulations spelt out for the citizens of our country and, if so, whose responsibility is it to ensure implementation — the state or the business community? The twin fire tragedies of the garment factory in Karachi and the shoe factory in Lahore on 9/11 was just less than a week ago in which 289 and 25 people perished respectively and more than 250 were injured.

How many more will die before we learn our lessons as a nation?

 

 

 

  TOWN TALK

*Play: Chupen tu Pehlan on the ocassion of 105th birthday of Baghat Singh from September 24-26 at Alhamra Hall No.2, The Mall. The Play is directed by Malik Aslam.

*International Film Festival at Peeru’s Café: Film screenings, Pakistani film posters exhibition, laser light & puppet shows, art & craft bazaar, live performances by: Sain Zahoor, Rafaqat Ali Khan, Sher Miandad, Mian Miri Qawaals & Dholiyaas. Today is the last day. Festival and all other activities are free of charge. Shuttle bus service available from campus bridge.

*Group Exhibition of Paintings at EJaz Art Gallery. Works of Ismail Gulgee, Sadequin, Colin David, Allah Bux, Abdur Rahman Chughtai, Jamil Naqsh, Saeed Akhtar, Shemza, Askari Mian Irani and Ahmed Khan are on exhibit. Today is the last day.

*Lok Rahs Theatre Competition 2012: today is the last day of multiple Plays by Young Drama Groups

*Education Expo today at Expo Centre Lahore. Books available on discount other than stalls of universities.

*Photo Walk through the Royal Trail on Saturday, Sept 29 at 05:30 am. Walk to start from Delhi Gate

 

 

 

 

 

 

labour
Unnatural bond
Kiln workers celebrate Sept 18 every year as the day when the Supreme Court gave them a favourable decision. Have things changed for them since then?

They sit in the stairs of a jam-packed Alhamra Hall. At one moment they look at the audience, rocking to the tunes of music played by Laal Band and try to grasp the meaning of what the vocalist is trying to convey. They are dead sure he is saying something meaningful which warrants the applause he is getting.

Oblivious of what happens in the outside world, these workers from a brick kiln in the peripheries of Kasur have made their first entry in the premises of Alhamra. The day is September 18 and they are just a few of the around 2,500 brick kiln workers brought here to join celebrations to mark a historic decision.

Exactly 24 years ago, a Supreme Court (SC) of Pakistan decision came in their favour. By virtue of this decision announced by the then SC CJ Justice Afzal Zullah, kiln workers were declared victims of worst form of bonded labour and all means to bind them in a master-slave relation were declared illegal.

Twenty-four years down the road, things have changed a bit but results are far from desired, believes Syeda Ghulam Fatima, secretary general of Bonded Labour Liberation Front (BLLF) — a rights body which organised the event.

The event started with a march towards the SC Lahore registry where members of civil society, legal fraternity, worker’s unions and kiln workers pay homage to the apex court for announcing such a landmark decision. This was followed by a seminar and exhibition of paintings and photographs depicting the realities of kiln workers’ lives. The music performance by the leftist Laal Band is the latest activity added to the event.

Fatima laments the fact that despite the law being absolutely clear, the departments and individuals responsible for implementing it have themselves been the biggest flouters. Under the law, a kiln-owner cannot give advance (peshgi) more than two weeks’ wage to a kiln worker but they are doing that with impunity. Once a kiln worker is in deep debt he cannot think about moving from the place. This, she says, is for the reason that a kiln worker’s earnings are not enough to keep both ends meet and at the same time clear his liabilities, even partially.

Social security cover, a means to offset all this, is also not available to kiln workers as the owners do not get them registered with social security and the concerned departments do not move an inch. The Labour Department tops the list of these inactive departments. Fatima says if covered by social security department, the worker gets financial help in cases of illness, death, marriage of daughter and so on. “What currently happens is that kiln workers extend loans in times of need to make them dependent on them. Hard to believe but is a fact that millions of kiln workers do not even have CNICs.”

A participant of the event can have a glimpse into the life of a kiln worker’s live by simply walking into the art gallery where 20 paintings, some of them made by workers themselves, and around 400 photographs managed by the organisers are on display. Images of activists beaten up brutally by police, kiln workers in chains, minors exposed to smoke in hazardous environs of kilns, families living in inexplicably bad conditions, protests and rallies launched by rights bodies etc are nothing less than illustrated history of the movement for kiln workers’ rights and a pictorial depiction of their existing conditions.

Another issue, discussed extensively at the event, was the lack of implementation of the minimum wage award for kiln workers. The government regularly announces and revises a rate which is hardly implemented. The officially announced rate of Rs 517 per 1,000 bricks produced by a kiln worker could not be announced for years.

“Some kiln owners near Lahore have recently started paying around Rs 500. But they are doing this once the rate has been revised upwards to around Rs 657 per 1,000 bricks,” says Meher Safdar Ali, programme manager at BLLF.

He tells TNS the rate gets lower and lower as you move away from city centres; there are kilns in Jhang, Chiniot etc which are paying Rs 250 to Rs 300 per 1,000 bricks. “Just imagine what is left at their disposal once the owner makes deductions (katoti) to adjust their loans.”

Ali firmly believes kiln owners cannot exploit kiln workers without the support of police. “As soon as a worker raises his voice, the owners connive with police and get fake criminal cases registered against them. This works as deterrent against future risings.

When contacted by TNS, Shoaib Khan Niazi, President of All Pakistan Kiln Owners’ Association, terms the campaign a propaganda launched by NGOs and their ‘foreign supporters’. “It’s unfair to label all the owners violators of human rights on the basis of atrocities committed by a few,” he says.

He holds kiln workers responsible for exposing their minor children to hazards. His point is that they themselves make their whole family work just to increase the number of bricks they produce per day. “The same SC decision which they are celebrating today calls for registration of police case against a person whose minor child is found working at kilns.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Entertainment, education, inspiration
International Children’s Film Festival at the Ali Institute was a great idea that must become a regular annual event

Children’s films draw their inspiration from the countless human emotions, creativity and use of animations that complement the concepts so that they are well understood by the younger generation. The ambition of such films is to highlight the moral values, provoke imagination and entertain.

The favourable response that the 4th Lahore International Children’s Film Festival has evoked in their young organiser team is the necessary confidence to keep the ball rolling and work harder to come up with another edition next year.

The brightly lit up and colourfully decorated Ali Auditorium remained a hub of activity throughout last week despite heavy downpour on day one and a great number of people came to the morning shows. However, it was the evening that saw very little turn out mainly because of the bad condition of Ferozepur Road and the on-going T-20 World Cup proceedings. “The Art for Free concept should now be discouraged,” said Ali Hameed who is a graduate from NCA in Film Making and is the festival programmer at The Little Arts.

“The Little Arts is an arts education organisation that promotes positive social values through innovative learning opportunities among children and young people, specially belonging to low-income backgrounds,” explained Hameed.

Most of the morning shows were booked by schools and crowd participation was immense. The organisers had invited various organisations like Idara Taleem-o-Agahi and shelter homes like SOS and distributed free passes. People are still reluctant to buy tickets. This, according to Ali Hameed, is a major damper and a let down for many hard working people behind the programme.

This year the motto of the event is to educate, entertain and be inspired according to Shoaib Iqbal, Festival Director. Some of the best films of 2012 were shown in shows lasting an hour made for and by the children and young people that included a wide range of short documentaries, animation, fiction and feature films aimed specifically for the age group 3-17 years.

A total of 86 films including 5 (sixty min) feature films representing 32 countries and their diversified cultures, customs, trends and languages were presented during the six day event that had carefully selected themes based on friendship, tolerance, love, affection and deeper understanding of relationships. Films from countries like Finland, Egypt, Germany, Spain, Sweden, USA, Bangladesh, Japan and Russia made their mark to benefit children across Pakistan. 

Wendy, an American lady who had brought her daughter Eizzah to watch the evening show, was full of praise for the entire effort put up by The Little Arts. “I feel that my daughter is old enough to absorb the stories that are very well told and the whole premise looks inviting with painted murals of animals, lighting, stalls and the bubbles which manage to captivate the young crowed,” she pointed out.

Time flew for the audience that also included me and my daughters who were engrossed for one hour till the show came to an end. Just a Little, was a 9 min Swedish film based on the importance of self-identity and that one should always be thankful to God for His creations. Next in line was Lost and Found, an Oscar nominee and a BAFTA winner UK based film which is a magical tale of loneliness and friendship. We thoroughly enjoyed looking at the expressions of animals in the 7min French film Rumours. The noises that the animals made when the rumour spread got us in fits of laughter. Chinti, an 8min Russian film is all about a gritty little ant composed entirely of tea leaves in various colours and textures.

The short duration of most of the films was the only way of holding the children’s interest as their attention span is very little.

Moving on to a Pakistani short film Bhaoo, directed by Shazreh Hameed, which was about the realities of a child’s life or the life that is given to him by the adults. A child’s fears and wishes were well-presented in which he escapes from his life into his dreams. We were not able to see the 90-min Indian Gattu but heard a lot of good things about it. It won awards at the Berlin International Film Festival and focused on accepting challenges that nothing is impossible if the desire is strong. This film along with another UK based Varmints won hearts, according to the organisers of the event. Short documentaries handling topics such as poverty, rising to challenges, selfless acts of love and journey of exploration became favourites with the audience.

“We have been able to reach young people irrespective of their cast, gender, family background and income status. The promise at ‘The Little Arts’ media is to provide an equal right to opportunities of creative expression as we have successfully collaborated with schools, colleges, universities, organisations and networks who are also committed to bridge the gap between imparting new ideas and formal education,” said Shoaib Iqbal.

However, the complaints regarding the choice of movies for specific age groups should be looked into. “I think they are not age relevant movies because our children lost interest after a short while,” said Sameera Maroof, a kindergarten teacher who came with the class for one of the shows. It was also observed that four and five year olds were not able to read the sub-titles in English because of the language barrier and were confused.

This is a new perspective for the future generation to observe and comprehend the global trends by introducing the creative media to express and share. “This festival will travel to six cities in Pakistan including Karachi, Faisalabad, Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Peshawar and is expected to screen films and engage 80,000 children and young people,” as promised by Shoaib Iqbal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Musical farce
The play ‘Lend me a tenor’ provided viewers with good laughter

A paradigm shift from Neil Simon’s ‘The Odd Couple’, B Theatre seems to be on a roll this summer as well. When a Broadway executed performance lightens the stage at Alhamra, it’s a pleasure to sit back seeing a Ken Ludwig’s creation in Pakistan. This five day venture not only attracted a large number of audiences but was a first rate musical farce directed by Awais Azhar.

The play was an eighty minutes of good laughter and spontaneous applause.

The play did seem to start at a slower pace but Waleed A. Zaidi as Saunders ensured to engage the audience with every rant of his. It’s amazing to see his progress as a versatile actor from his roles in The Birdcage to his present performance. Omair Farooq as Tito was as exuberant as the character should have been.

This play was a prime example of how an ensemble cast works as a team. Every actor reflected that a thorough work had been done on their characters. Then be it Amel Ghani as Maggie or Fatima as Maria, accents, postures, modulations and the casual connections were well built upon with the audience. Even minor performances such as Bellhop’s role done by Shah Fahad went well with the audience. But the real star of the play was Sanwal Tariq whose ability to change phases as Max and the tenor were greatly done. If there was an actor on the stage who seemed acquainted to the setting, well-versed with the script and had immaculate timing, it was him.

Credit has to be given to Awais Azhar who didn’t badger Ludwig’s script, killing the very spirit of the play. It’s very seldom that one would find directors such as Azhar who would give credit to the script and not pose it as their own creation. It was interesting to see Sachal Tahseen, who himself is an A level student, as the assistant director for the play, the youngest of the lot. He was responsible for the amazing synchronisation of sound at some of the high points in the play.

The stage had a perfect setting with the effort being evident from the segregation done on dividing the stage. Here the credit should be given to Shamms Barry who didn’t compromise on the quality of the props and Sana Jafri for the costumes. The marketing of the play was done extremely well and it bore them fruits finally.

All in all, the best way to isolate one’s self from all the problems in the world was to get immersed into a theatre as great as this production, only if the air conditioners were functioning properly. It’s a tragedy however that this dependence on sponsorships has not allowed the theatre industry to grow. If productions such as this continue to entertain us in the future, having a ticket is perhaps the next step.

The expectations from this production house are high and we expect nothing less. Kudos to the whole team of ‘Lend me a tenor’.

 

 

 

 

Nothing in nature is useless:
 Wheat stubs used in paper making,
 are burnt here after harvest. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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