After a visit to the much-awaited Karachi International Book Fair, I finally settled down to read one of the books over the weekend. Out of habit, I read the text of the back cover first, and then started to scratch the price sticker. “Rs450” - read the sticker with, I noted with interest, the date mentioned on the top. And the date was 17/12/08.

When the sticker came off, it was surprising to discover another sticker under it, reading “Rs395.” Ok, this is intriguing, I thought. I went online to check that store's website and the real price of the book. Sure enough, the price of that particular book was Rs395 only.

Apparently, that particular store pasted the revised prices on its stock of books ten days before the start of the fair, proclaimed that it was giving a 15 per cent discount and tricked the unsuspecting readers who thought they were getting a good discount.

Obviously, a 15 per cent discount on a price of Rs450, only means that a reader paid about the same price at the book expo that he/she would have done at the store's outlet itself.

Tactics like these in a country where reading habits are already so poor just go to show that, very soon, reading will become a luxury that only the privileged can afford. It is always such a pleasure to visit the book expo and get one's hands on books which are normally completely out of budget.

Any discount over 10 per cent does make a huge difference. But if reputable book stores, such as the one in question, are going to trick readers in this way, well, all I can say is, it's a shame really. —Hafsa Ahsan

An abundance of jaywalkers

The metropolitan city has an abundance of jaywalkers who often cause accidents, and serious ones at that. However, the blame is somehow always put on drivers and motorcyclists.

Most roads in the metropolis have several zebra crossings which are there for the convenience of people so that they can cross roads easily and safely. Besides, bridges have been constructed on several main roads where there is too much traffic so that people can utilise them whenever needed.

Furthermore, until quite recently the community police had been positioned all over the city to help people cross roads. And they were there even during rush hours be it morning or evening so that the citizens faced no problems of any kind whatsoever. I had often seen the community police helping the elderly, women and children cross roads near the Baitul Mukarram Mosque in Gulshan-i-Iqbal and the Civic Centre. And I think they were better at handling traffic than the traffic police ever has been. But somehow the community police became useless when people crossed the busiest of roads wherever they pleased.

Mind you, the jaywalkers also include educated people in case you are under the illusion that only the illiterate cross roads with abandon. Many office workers are seen jaywalking on I.I. Chundrigar Road, Dr Ziauddin Ahmed Road, and near the five-star hotels and the PIDC Building on a daily basis.

Going to the airport to see off my brother recently I was shocked to see a bearded man who must be in his early 50s cross Sharea Faisal near the Malir Cantonment with a three-year-old son tucked between his left arm and chest and a five-year-old son holding his right hand.

However, what really shocked me was that he was standing right in the middle of the road doing the balancing act with his children while the drivers were doing their best not to hit them.

What if his elder son had let go of his hand and started running as children can be so unpredictable and mischievous at times. What if a driver could not control his reflexes fast enough and hit them.

However, it does not take much to guess who would be held responsible in case of an accident. Even the public somehow sides with jaywalkers on such occasions.

On another occasion I saw a man and three burqa-clad women jaywalking on Sharea Faisal near Nursery. In fact, they had started running to cross the road which is even more dangerous as one or more of them might have slipped and fallen, leading to an accident or a major accident among several cars as everybody knows how cars speed up on main roads and highways.

It is not an uncommon sight to see a cyclist cross the road by walking while moving the cycle with his hands. And this is somehow never done on a zebra crossing. This hinders the moving of vehicles all the more.

However, the incident that shocked as well as made me laugh happened on Jamshed Road recently.

A six-foot-tall policeman standing in the middle of the road kept swaying to and fro not knowing what to do - whether to move forward or go backward - as he was scared of the oncoming traffic.

The drivers of vehicles, rickshawallahs and motorcyclists kept avoiding him so as not to hit him.

Finally, he made up his mind and lurched forward to the island in front of him. My rickshaw sped past and I could not see how he managed to cross the rest of the road.

—Mohsin Maqbool Elahi

Charged parking

Karachi by far is the country's largest city with the highest number of vehicles plying its roads and every year with the huge influx of more vehicles the problem of parking is becoming more and more acute.

Although charged parking has been introduced at some places in the city to reduce traffic congestion on roads, which certainly is a positive development, it has a few loopholes. Parking places have been assigned to different contractors who charge motorists and motorcyclists a fee of their choice and allow them to park their vehicles.

Ironically, many contactors have not been allotted open space such as a vacant plot in congested areas. They have merely been given the responsibility of ensuring that people park their vehicles in an orderly manner on the city streets.

While in some designated parking areas the contactors resort to the practice of double parking cars in an effort to make an extra buck and also by allowing parking of more than the usual number of motorcycles.

Then there are other contractors who charge much more than the amount specified on receipts. This sometimes causes heated altercations between the vehicle owner and the contractors. Besides, there are a few smart contractors who issue a receipt stamped with a fee higher than the one printed on it. This 'innovative' idea is also adopted at the toll plaza on the National Highway. A colleague on a recent trip to Thatta was charged Rs15 on crossing the toll plaza. The receipt did not attract his attention as the figure stamped on it was same. However, he was surprised to see that the stamped amount was 50 per cent higher than the charges printed on the receipt.

Nevertheless, the exorbitant parking charges levied by posh hotels are not less than Rs60 these days.

I have always contended that “Anything worth doing is worth doing well.” Charges should be uniform throughout the city and the contracting companies should have uniformed attendants with proper identification so as to avoid the risk of unscrupulous profiteers trying to make a quick buck from this scheme.

It is a noble effort on the part of city planners to ease traffic congestion by allowing parking in orderly manner on streets and roads but half-baked solutions only add to the problems rather than resolving them.—Syed Ali Anwer

Compiled by Syed Hassan Ali

karachian@dawn.com