Articles and letters may be edited for the purposes of clarity and space. They are published in good faith with a view to enlightening all the stakeholders. However, the contents of these writings may not necessarily match the views of the newspaper.
Hilly area calamity
A few years ago I stuck in snow at midnight in the car at Jheeka Gali (Murree) as well; no one came to help us till morning. , I got Goosebumps to hear the similar gigantic incident occurred there again. It is a heart wrenching news, 23 causalities happened.
Regretfully stated, nevertheless, we are well equipped with weather forecast systems, safe city cameras, traffic police and C&W (Communication and Works) Department. This is entirely mismanagement of concerned officials and departments. On the other hand, hotel mafia left no stone unturned to loot the helpless tourists.
Enough is enough, it is the need of the era, and government should set the standard rates of these hotels according to their capacity, facility and ratings to control extravagant greed of the hotels honour in order to avoid recurrence of this type of unforgettable and unbearable setback.
ZORAIZ AHSAN
Lahore
Murree tragedy
Murree is the most popular and the busiest tourist spot. Murree tragedy advocates that tourism in Pakistan cannot even cope with the local visitors while PM Imran Khan has always emphasised on the vastness of tourism in Pakistan. With such a poor management, how is government supposed to promote tourism?
Despite the awareness of massive rush, the government did not take any serious actions regarding it. Just a day before tragedy, Information Minister tweeted that almost one lac vehicles had entered Murree till that time and tried to take it as a credit by saying that it was a sign of prosperity in the country. On the contrary, hill stations have limited capacity, with Murree only being able to accommodate 4,000 cars at a given time, So why was such a huge number of vehicles allowed to continue onward?
Neither snowfall was for the first time nor it was raining for the first time in the northern areas like Murree. In order to promote tourism in its true sense, the government should learn from this tragedy and should take some serious actions for future.
The authorities should issue travel alerts to the public in the light of dire weather forecast, there should be banners/posters within the premises of 200-300 meters on which emergency safety instructions should be written.
Besides, there should be vigilant special tourist force for visitor’s help and for quick response in case of any emergency. Massive loss of more than 20 lives should be a lesson for the authorities to realise the significance of vigilant and timely action.
SANA ALAM
Rawalpindi
Fighting Omicron threats
On the one hand, the spirit of the people has been just amazing and the example is the way people have been venturing out in large numbers to celebrate many recently held festivals and functions.
On the other hand, most people have been turning a blind eye to the current COVID status, especially in the wake of the Omicron variant by not wearing masks in open places. Bunking off such serious yet simple protocols as wearing masks, these people have been posing a great threat to the current state of affairs.
Quite incidentally, I have been witnessing numerous people venturing out for their needs without wearing masks. Sticking to my own masks as always, I have been passing a word of advice on mask wearing to many people.
As for Omicron threats, it is all in our hands to keep away these new fears. Even though vaccination has been a big hit across the board worldwide, people should come out wearing masks.
Plus, the governments and all the media houses should come forward to churn out daily local feeds about important corona protocols through proper means/channels like an ad with a strong message and celebrity voice/word of advice.
After all, countries have to look into their economic needs like agriculture activities and industrial operations. For this, the international community must come out of the COVID loop soon.
P SENTHIL S DURAI
Maharashtra, India
In regard
to teachers
There are people in our life who have taught us the value of good and the path of evil. They help us solve the little problems in our life. They taught us not to fuss about the things we can’t do. They make us believe in the impossible possible, believe in ourselves.
They do not give birth to us but they can easily tell us about our emotions and make us flow in harmony and happiness. And they are none other than our teachers, that is to say our second parents. They teach us everything they have. But in return, they get a small amount of money, and can’t appreciate their efforts or pay off the hard work.
The skills and abilities of the teacher can only be heard and appreciated by words, but with equal respect, in our society the level of respect for teachers has decreased.
They teach us, they shape our future, they give the best of themselves to make our future bright. As in other foreign countries, teachers’ salaries cannot be higher than those of other professions. In Pakistan the respect of the teacher should have to be taken to the next level.
We have to thank them, for becoming our biggest source of inspiration, for helping us in learning new life experiences, for teaching us the values and good ethics, for teaching us that we have to be responsible and accountable for our actions and much more. And tell them that we are grateful about everything they do for us even after having a hard time or suffering.
SANA SARFARAZ
Karachi
