Sir,:It is with great pain and sadness I bring to your knowledge that the municipal services, especially sanitation, in the areas around Bohri Masjid and Noman Centre, Saddar, have totally vanished.

I am a resident of a Parsi building on the Syedna Burhanuddin Street (formerly Mansfield Street) living here since the last 40 years. Garbage and filth is being dumped by hawkers and shop vendors on footpaths near our houses and left to rot causing bad smell around the area. Municipal services people are non-existent in the area since the last few months causing the garbage and filth to overflow on the roads. The footpaths are totally broken as buses and mini-buses are parked on them.

I would request the local government authorities to kindly depute a team and have the area around Bohri Masjid and Noman Centre (Syedna Burhanuddin Street) cleaned as soon as possible and ensure that this is done on a daily basis.

A CONCERNED RESIDENT Khursheedbai Building Mansfield Street Saddar

US consulate Sir, The location of the US consulate at the intersection of M.T. Khan Road and Mai Kolachi is rather inappropriate. During rush hour, there is heavy traffic congestion at this intersection. Whenever security barricades are put up and traffic redirected from one road to the other, it causes severe traffic jams all along M.T. Khan Road.

When this land was being allocated for this purpose, voices of objection were raised for the consulate being on a road leading to the seaport. How correct were those voices!

RAFI AHMED Karachi

ATM card complaint Sir, Since its issuance, my NBP ATM card has not been working and after contacting different forums, including the relevant branch manager and helpline (111-627-627), my issue is still not resolved.

The ATM PIN number provided to me did not work, as a result my ATM card has been blocked/expired.

On contacting the relevant branch manager various times he repeatedly claimed he was totally unaware how to get a new PIN for the ATM card and suggested I contact the helpline. However, on contacting the helpline the representative told me to contact the branch manager for a new ATM PIN!

No doubt this is poor service that results in mental torture for the customers of a reputable bank like NBP.

I request the relevant authorities to kindly take serious notice of my complaint and resolve the matter.

IMRAN KHAN Account holder Malir City Branch Karachi

Colonial architecture Sir, I read Peerzada Salman’s delightful articles every week, along with enjoying the pictures depicting the building he has mentioned. These structures reflect back on a period when we had a low population growth and these buildings were erected to stand forever.

These were located in the centre of town with very few automobiles and most residents could walk or take the tram or public bus to work.

Also the building authorities were almost corruption-free. Alas, we have lost all the old values. Today honest people have no say.

But how to retain the original looks of the structures? These buildings have new occupants who have bought these spaces on ‘paid money’, meaning that they are valued at a very old tax structure and the occupants pay a very meagre amount as property tax.

The solution to restoring these pre-partition structures is to inform the present occupants that they have either to purchase the occupancy at say Rs1,500 per square foot or to depart from the buildings in a period of three years or allow some other occupant to purchase them. This way the property tax will shoot up for the entire building. With this the authorities can restore the façade back to its original shape and the new owners can redo the interiors. This can be a solution not just in Karachi but all over Pakistan.

NAVAID HUSAIN Karachi

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