FILTH, SQUALOR AND POVERTY, MY COUNTRY HAS TURNED INTO A SLUMP This morning I had to drop my guests to Pirwadhai bus stop to catch the 9 oclock bus leaving for Kanewal. I drove on Peshawar road and for the first time drove along the under pass leading to Faizabad and I appreciated the road network built recently by Chief Minister Punjab. It is as I got on the main Pirwadhai road that the miseries started. The road used by millions for transportation to the main bus stand of the Twin Cities is all broken, bumpy and full of traffic of all kinds. The traffic was totally hap hazard and got wild as one got closer to the bus stand itself. There was hardly any traffic police or efforts to discipline the lawlessness. This state of affairs in spite all paying the heavy toll at the toll plaza becomes more disturbing. My mind questioned the priority of development for the public by the Government. The nightmare actually began when I turned towards the internal road leading to the bus stand. Traffic hold ups with all kinds of traffic just rushing and choking whatever space became available, it was total madness but everybody seemed to be at home and seemed to have accepted the chaos as part of life. Instead of turning back the same route that I had come on I decided to follow the route leading into interior of the city hoping that I would have a short cut to the Cantoment and a better experience. My optimism turned into dismay as I moved along. The first haul up was due to a heap of filth dumped on the road side of this narrow road . I had to wait 10 minutes before I could pass the point. There were about a dozen children and men picking through the filth for their livelihood. Human dignity at its lowest ebb as even stray dogs were found missing. A large majority of the local public was plying on this road in qinchi rickshaws, motorbikes, donkey carts, taxis and their private cars. The road was as broken as the one that i had travelled on to reach Pirwadhai and totally choked with traffic moving at a snails speed. We are a truly over crowded nation breeding like rats whose infrastructure is totally over burdened and mostly built for the 70s. The business seen around the road took one back to well over a century, poverty stricken, old vintage machine shops, broken and old model transport and total helplessness on the faces of the public yet there was mutual respect in spite the rush to be the first to fill in the empty space as one moved along. The final outlet and a hope to exit to open space was blocked with a bus in the center where public helped the traffic go around the bus which indicated the urge within the public to regulate the flow of the traffic in spite all the hurdles. This explains the state of affairs of the general public and the attitude of the state towards their betterment. Mr Prime Minister, worthy ministers and the opposition please set your priorities right. Shun the VIP culture most undeserved, shelf the multibillion superficial schemes and projects of least public utility and utter waste of the tax payers money. Set your priorities right and address the true miseries of the public. Poverty, shelter, joblessness, , health, social justice ,education , shortage of energy , costly lively hood , poor infrastructure and absence of merit, topping it all with the law and order situation and absence of any kind of security of life and property. Divert your resources to these issues through the true representatives of the local bodies who must be held accountable. 50 % of the development budget be planned and executed by the local bodies . The Government would still have enough to spend on the lavish projects to project its modern face and enrich its beneficiaries as part of our political culture . Increase the tax base to double the present size but ensure it is spent in building shelters and housing units, schools , colleges, hospitals, job opportunities, infrastructure and follow a social welfare programme. Invest on your human resource your biggest challenge and convert it to your greatest opportunity. Have effective administrative units, self accounting and discharging public service and social justice ensuring safety of life and property of all citizens as equals in the eye of law of the state and ensure rule of law. The Federal and Provincial governments can continue with their development programmes at the macro level, also so essential for the development of a country. We must all play our role in implementing the proposed way out of our miseries and force all those at the helm of affairs to set the priorities right. Well done Imran Khan and Allama Qadri for your efforts to highlight the miseries of the public and the much needed reforms. You have done your part and follow it through self example and return to the public to give them what all they deserve if the present rulers fail. M Ibrahim Khan.
Posted on: Sun, 05 Oct 2014 06:36:20 +0000
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