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.
No payment of pension
FOR the first time in decades, over 4000 retired employees of Radio Pakistan, most unfortunately, are not being paid their pensions for March 2023 while the holy month of fasting has already set in and they have been told to wait till next month. This total denial of pension payment has happened after irregular payment of pensions for the last ten months. Majority of the retired employees live in rented premises and have to pay rents to the landlords in the first week of every month or face threats of evacuation.
The incumbent federal government had replaced Radio Pakistan’s own pay scales with the government pay scales in July 2022. According to the government pay scales, retired and serving Radio Pakistan employees are now also entitled to receive Medical Allowance in the ratio of 15/20 per cent as the Medical Allowance which was also being denied to them so far.
Furthermore, Radio Pakistan serving and retired employees in case of PBC Medical Officers prescribed medicines not becoming available from the medical stores on contract with the organization purchase medicines for themselves and their families from their own pockets and submit these bills for reimbursement.
The PBC Medical Officers, according to the available information, are charging Rs 200 for each prescription as they reportedly have also not been paid their agreed remunerations for a pretty long period. A number of Radio’s retired and serving employees have stopped submitting the medicines purchased bills due to non-payment of already submitted bills for years together.
It is an irony of fate that Radio Pakistan for quite some time has no source of its own income. All electricity consumers are paying with their electricity bills Rs 35 every month as PTV Fee for years together.
Couple of months back, Radio Pakistan’s former DG had proposed to higher authorities concerned that Rs 15 be added to PTV Rs Fee 35 raising it to TV, Radio Fee Rs 50 per month and that would have earned Rs 5 billion for Radio Pakistan and reduced financial burden of the federal government to some extent. But most unfortunately, the proposal was summarily turned down and thrown into a waste bucket with the remarks that nobody is listening to Radio Pakistan and many of its transmitters were off the air. How come, please?
M Z RIFAT
Lahore
E-waste in Pakistan
Pakistan is facing an alarming issue of mismanagement and improper disposal of hazardous waste. Absence of a clear policy direction and weak enforcement of other legislation on ban of import of hazardous waste has escalated this issue in Pakistan. To protect the public health and environment is the sole responsibility of the Government of Pakistan. Therefore, pragmatic steps are needed to manage the menace of hazardous waste.
Lahore has been repeatedly ranked as the top most polluted city in the world. It all in all generates about 500,000 tons of waste per year rising to new heights of public concern these days. This problem is a stumbling block strengthening its roots in Lahore. The public and media perceived the hazardous waste to be a major environmental and public health risk not seriously until about 1978. Till date, many countries have taken steady steps and came up with significant policies to tackle this issue. But despite the policies and regulations regarding solid waste management, Pakistan still lacks a proper waste management infrastructure and urgently needs a waste roadmap to cope up with this challenge.
Hazardous waste means any waste which, by reason of its chemical activity, is toxic, explosive, flammable, corrosive, radioactive, poisonous, infectious or other hazardous characteristics causes, or is likely to cause, directly or in combination with other matters, an adverse effect to human health and/or the environment.
EMAN MUDASSAR
Islamabad
No way forward
The nasty muck which has been emerging in Pakistan since last year has left very little room for optimism. There is no flicker of hope. People who matter in the statecraft are taking a sombre sleep. We are cruelly short of competent leaders who can undertake timely reforms and legislative changes and translate them into concrete actions. Reality of our politicians has dawned upon us, their role is no more than that of a puppet on string.
Current economic outlook is very gloomy as a consequence of our counterproductive policies which have taken country at verge of destruction; there is a raising spectre of imminent default. There appears to be no other option but to accept the painful prescriptions given by IMF. It is the need of hour to unleash new engines of growth.
In our country all the power lies in few hands, there is no devolution of power rather it is the consolidation, our incumbents are only indulged in cultivating personality cults and they have a fervent quest to grow their own personal fortunes and are seeking to extract as much wealth as possible by merciless exploitation of people.
AZHAR ALI
Sukkur
Poor health infrastructure
Pakistan is facing a lot of economic and political challenges. Poor health infrastructure is one of the major contributing reasons for the downfall of Pakistan. Every typical government hospital lacks an average team of doctors, nurses and helpers. There is still a shortage of educated and professional individuals though a large number of students graduate every year. The main reason is less availability of medical seats in public sector universities.
There are only 1021 hospitals for the population of 235 million people in Pakistan. Because they serve a huge population in any area such hospitals are always overcrowded. These hospitals are unhygienic and people are unheard. During the time of any epidemic such as Covid-19 the medicines were in short supply and their prices touched the sky. Drug mafia horded the medicines and a huge number of poor expired.
Pakistan has great pharmaceutical companies but majority of medicines are imported from other countries. Due to corruption, hospitals lack the basic facilities such as beds, water and ambulances. From corruption to basic life necessities, Pakistan has to fight with a lot of challenges. It is time to implement better health facilities to insure healthy and average life of every individual.
AIMAN CHAUHDARY
Lahore
Box letter
Educational reforms
Proper schooling and equal educational opportunities are the major driving forces behind the prosperity of developed nations. Schooling systems and strategies of developed countries such as Finland are really impressive; at the primary level, students are taught about world history, science and other major subjects with the help of interactive learning and they are engaged in various co-curricular and extra-curricular activities too. While in our country, less focus is placed on the primary level, children are treated like parrots and only rote learning is encouraged. At government schools, most of the teachers are less trained and not equipped with the basic skills and necessary knowledge, such as pedagogy. To improve our educational system, effective measures should be taken from the primary level to pave the way towards prosperity for our new generation and motherland by providing equal educational opportunities for all and equipping teachers with the pedagogical training, technological gadgets and proper infrastructure.
TULHA SIKANDER
Larkana
