Sir,

I wish to draw your attention to a serious problem. For some reason, the DHA in its wisdom decided about six months or so ago to make Khayaban-i-Mujahid and Khayaban-i-Shamsheer one-way roads.

This happened rather suddenly and led to enormous problems. Clearly the DHA had not done its homework and had certainly not prepared the residents for it. One of the problems was that the traffic lights had not been altered (they still haven’t) to reflect the new traffic flow. Nonetheless people adjusted and started following the new rules except for habitual offenders, of which there are quite a few.

The DHA then made ‘service lanes’ on Shamsheer without any indication of how traffic should flow on these lanes. The result is that traffic is now flowing in all directions and vehicles can drive on a service lane from Beach Avenue to Khayaban-i-Hafiz and on the other side to the DHA commercial area off Shamsheer.

Crossing Shamsheer is extremely hazardous as vehicles can suddenly appear using the service lane where they think they don’t have to follow the traffic lights.

There is utter chaos, confusion and substantial danger brought about by this unnecessary, unplanned intervention of the DHA. They need to get some professional help for this ill-conceived plan.

DR A. AHMED Karachi

II

Sir, Each passing day, life in this city throws some kind of a challenge which must be reluctantly accepted by the inhabitants. Recently, commuters heading to the far end of Defence were in for a rude shock when they found huge hazards placed on all roads lying at the far end of Khayaban-i-Hafiz.

Of course, there is no question of seeking any public approval by the cantonment or any other relevant authority through an announcement in the media which would have informed the public beforehand, especially since that area of Defence houses quite a few schools and colleges. Now, during the morning and afternoon rush hours, long queues of cars can be noticed causing much hardship to the teaching staff as well as children who have to struggle to reach school on time.

The manner in which the barriers are placed forces drivers to sway their cars to and fro exposing them to accidents. Also, at night time the area must be amply lit to prevent any major mishap.

While many would question the reason for this step, a more beneficial decision would have been the construction of speed breakers on the respective roads leading to Saba Avenue as speeding cars cause severe accidents here almost on a daily basis.

SAMINA FAROOQI AHMED Karachi

Water crisis

Sir, The residents of the DHA have over the years shown remarkable patience over the perpetual shortage of water faced in the area.

Recently, a new twist was added to the water crisis when the Cantonment Board Clifton, in its bills for 2012-2013, made an ill-advised decision to increase water charges by over 100 per cent. The bills issued also showed arrears with retroactive effect. The already discontented residents could not take this any further. Therefore, various DHA residents’ associations protested for not being consulted on this decision.

With no other choice available, the residents’ associations took the matter to the National Assembly’s Sub-Committee on Defence, which was convened by MNA Nawab Abdul Ghani Talpur. The DHA residents and their associations are thankful to Nawab Talpur for convening a meeting in the interests of residents, as a result of which the increase in water charges was withdrawn.

The CBC also has set a good example by promptly rectifying their error and immediately reverting to a resident-friendly position.

However, though the billing issue has been promptly and amicably resolved, the water crisis continues. Who is the culprit behind the crisis?

So long as the Karachi Water & Sewerage Board deprives the residents of their right to the required quantity of water, there is absolutely no hope of any solution to the crisis. DHA residents are totally dependent on bulk water supply from the KWSB, but the water board has a history of blaming others to cover its irresponsible actions.

Presently, the KWSB is the sole culprit behind the entire water crisis in DHA. The notorious tanker mafia operating in the DHA is thriving only because the KWSB holds back the required quantity of bulk water supply to DHA on one or another flimsy excuse.In my opinion, one long-term solution to DHA’s bulk water supply problem could be to have a dedicated water pipeline laid directly from Pipri to DHA. The cost of this pipeline could easily be covered on a ‘self-help basis’ with contributions from the residents for a specified time period. This and other issues need to be considered on a priority basis.

AIJAZ NABI Member Association of Defence Residents

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