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.
Uncontrolled urbanisation
If you are an urban dweller, you may know the real meaning of urbanization. However, this does not always indicate your sufficient insight in the “uncontrolled urbanization” topic too.
To form a causal chain, it is right to say that more jobs, more services in the urban side and absence of land in the countryside force people to migrate to larger cities which brings about uncontrolled urbanization. As a result, some problems arise such as unemployment, inadequacy of infrastructure/services and some environmentally unwanted events as well as unpleasant demographic incidents.
To begin with, it is a good point to dig up the reasons for people to come to larger cities. First of all, by all accounts, cities are perceived to offer a wide variety of job opportunities on the grounds that there are very different branches of businesses in cities. Inasmuch as the unemployment level is hugely high in the rural areas and the work is only about farming in contrast to countless business sectors in chief cities, more and more people choose to search for their chances in the metropolis.
Secondly, comes another significant reason: There are better services in cities. As a matter of fact, transportation is extremely developed so as to make use of time efficiently. Medical services are supported with the latest technological improvement, there are unbelievably modern hospitals.
Besides, education is taken into account seriously. There are very high-quality schools with excellent teachers, teaching with up-to-date techniques. None of these can be found in the rural areas, at this stage.
ASHFAQUE SANGI
Karachi
Constructing roadside bridges
Through the columns of your esteemed newspaper, I want to invite the attention of the concerned authorities and the public towards the problem of constructing roadside bridges.
There are many places where there are traffic lights and zebra crossings to cross the roads but in Karachi there are no bridges or zebra crossings on some roads with heavy traffic due to which they are very difficult to cross. Also bridges are essential alongside schools and colleges. Apart from all this, absence of bridges are the reason for many roadside accidents. The main cause of these accidents are also rash driving on main roads which make the road difficult to cross.
My request to the authorities is that they should pay attention towards such projects. Apart from the general public, this can be really helpful for students, senior citizens and the public.
YAMNA SOHAIL
North Karachi
Let us build education!
The basic infrastructure of educational institutions is not only the physical depiction of the education system in Pakistan but also acts as a symbol for the quality of education.
Mud schools, deserted buildings, lack of resources, shortage of teachers, absence of strategy, outdated curricula, scarcity of output and deficiency of scope lie at the core of education in the majority of rural and many urban localities in Pakistan.
On the extreme opposite, we have international standard schools with heavy resources but heavy fees catering only to the elite of Pakistan.
Socioeconomic elements, gender disparities, cultural norms and a phalanx of issues prevent many children from going to school or attaining higher education.
More than 22 million children are out of school in Pakistan, making their number the second highest in the world. Education produces critical thinkers and positive ideology builders, philosophers and scientists for the future of our country; to keep it on the right progressive track, making inventions and innovations with research and creativity.
There are bodies, like Yusaeid Foundation, that believe in rendering to the cause of education, facilitating the learning process, providing a platform for education, building infrastructure and supporting the learners and the educators.
Educational services are required to boost the learning process and the output of knowledge by providing efficient resources and instructional techniques. Our children deserve to utilise their capacities to the maximum. We need to provide all the possible avenues for young minds to flourish at a standard pace and become part of the growth and progress of our country.
MARYAM NAWAZ KAYANI
Islamabad
Loans on interest
Due to soaring inflation, the financial position of middle-class families has been affected badly in the recent past.
Owing to mis-governance in the domestic budget, many white-collar families get victim of online loan providers. As far as loan rules enshrined in Shariah are concerned, Islam has castigated all kinds of businesses based on interest. Contrary to that, loan providers convince needy people to accept their policies of sharing personal information and allowing access to sensitive data, to get facilitated by loan services. In this way, the loan seekers are entrapped in this anti-religion practice.
Surprisingly, a massive figure or such loan providers deceive white-collar people in a commendable manner. In a nutshell, concerned FBR authorities must probe the whole matter vividly. Moreover, we all should launch awareness campaigns in terms of aforementioned wrongdoings, on our own.
FARAZ HASSAN
Chiniot World AIDS Day
World AIDS Day is celebrated every 1 December to show solidarity with the people living with AIDS, to commemorate those who succumbed to this fatal disease, and to raise public awareness. AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) is a public health hazard.
It is caused by HIV which can enter the body through unprotected sex with an HIV-infected person, sharing needles during intravenous drug use, contaminated blood transfusion, sharing razor blades and infected mother to her child through the placenta.
A person infected with HIV suffers from declining immunity with symptoms like Pneumonia, diarrhoea, tiredness, weight loss, and fever. This impairment of the immune system can be slowed by effective treatment and medication but cannot be fully cured. With AIDS, death is inevitable.
Although the prevalence of AIDS is comparatively less in Pakistan, it has steadily increased over the last two decades. The population at risk in our country includes blood donors, drug addicts, prisoners and sex workers. Government and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) should jointly raise awareness of its causes, symptoms and diagnosis.
Moreover, it is the government’s job to build more rehabilitation centres for drug users, provide free nucleic acid tests (NAT) to determine its presence and open up job opportunities for transgender people to replace their sex work. Adequate public health awareness is urgently needed before the prevalence reaches an alarming limit.
AMNA FAISAL JAVERI
Karachi
