Violations of traffic laws: Karachi police enhanced amount of fines

Taking drastic step to fill its empty coffer, Karachi police Monday enhanced amount of fines on 52 different violations of traffic laws to manifolds. Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Karachi, Abdul Khaliq Sheikh announced the increase in fines. Fine on driving a vehicle without licence has been increase from Rs300 to Rs1000, violation of traffic signal from Rs100 to Rs500, over-speeding from Rs50 to Rs400, having fake fitness certificate from Rs400 to Rs2000.

Earlier, the police had cancelled the permits of vehicles with tinted glass, besides slapping ban on driving motor bikes with helmet coving face.(FP)

KARACHI ADMINISTRATOR VISITS UNDER CONSTRUCTION HOSPITALS

KMC Administrator Muhammad Hussain Syed said construction of a 50 bed each hospital in Gulistan-e-Jauhar and Federal B-Area Block 13 was underway speedily and construction of both hospitals in current fiscal year would be completed to provide better health care facilities to citizens. He said this during a visit of both under construction hospitals along with the D.G Technical Services Altaf G. Memon, Sr. Director Medical Services Dr. A.D Sajnani, Project Directors and other concerned engineers. Administrator Karachi said sum of Rs165million would incur on the construction of hospital in Gulistan-e-Jauhar and this would be completed in a year. 
The hospital building which spread on 48thousand square feet land would have the emergency, diagnosis facility, OPD, Operation Theatre, ICU, Wards for Women and Children and General Wards. This three storey hospital would provide medical facilities to the residents of localities located at from around Nipa Chowrangi to Safoora Goth. While visiting the Federal B-Area Block 13, Administrator Muhammad Hussain Syed said this hospital would be constructed with a cost of Rs165million in a year with all the necessary medical and health care facilities to be provided in this three storey building. He said for providing treatment to people suffered with cardiovascular diseases, this hospital would be affiliated with the Karachi Institute of Heart Diseases. He said the construction work on these projects was started and it is expected to be completed on time. 
Administrator Karachi said the development wing of health department of Government of Sindh was providing cooperation to KMC in the provision of funds for these hospitals. He said that Karachi had lack of medical facilities as compared with population here and citizens had to face difficulties due to immense rush of patients in all big hospitals. He said KMC through 13 big hospitals, 275 dispensaries, clinics and maternity homes was providing citizens with medical facilities. He said a new block consisting of 200 beds in Sobhraj Maternity home had also been built to facilitate citizens.

Iran to invest in Karachi’s public transport system

Iran has expressed interest in playing a role in the modernisation of Karachi’s public transport system.

According to the Tehran-based Press TV, Iranian Consul General Mehdi Sobhani showed his country’s willingness in this regard during a meeting with Karachi Metropolitan Corporation Administrator Hussain Syed.

The Iranian envoy said Tehran was prepared to implement the bus rapid transit (BRT) system in Karachi to provide a fast and more efficient service. Sobhani added that Iranian businessmen were ready to invest in solid waste management, dairy production, construction of industrial slaughterhouses and energy sector in the port city.

Syed said the BRT system was absolutely necessary in the city to meet the challenges of an ever-increasing urban population.(Express Tribune)

Prevention is the best way to combat brain-eating amoeba

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi 

(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Prevention is considered the best way to avoid the rare ‘brain eating’ disease Naegleria Fowleri, which has already claimed as many as 10 lives in a matter of just a few months in Pakistan’s most populous city of Karachi.

Prevention is the key in this case because the mortality rate of the disease is extremely high. It has to be ensured that the water supply is chlorinated and the citizens are aware about the precautionary measures.

Abstaining from all water-related activities can prevent Naegleria infections, but for many people, this simply is not an option. There are other things people can do.

It’s strongly recommended to avoid swimming in still, warm, brackish water that has loose bottom sediment. Jumping or diving into the same type of water is also to be avoided. The brain-eating amoeba is often caught through swimming in infected water.

Wearing a nose clip or holding your nose if you jump or dive into relatively warm water lakes, rivers, pools or other similar bodies of water is advised since Naegleria Fowleri is transmitted by contaminated water entering the nose. It cannot be passed from person to person, however.

People are warned to avoid getting water too deep into their nostrils and make sure their water supply is properly treated. Those with symptoms are urged to seek help immediately without wasting any time.

The highest incidence of this disease occurs in the hot summer months in children and young adults, with males having the highest incidence of disease.

Naegleria Fowleri, which has a fatality rate of more than 98%, infects people when contaminated water enters the body through the nasal membranes and destroys brain tissues. Symptoms are initially very mild, including a headache, stiff neck, fever and stomachache. Death usually occurs five to seven days after infection.

Naegleria Fowleri is an amoeba that lives in fresh water and soil. The organism goes through three stages in its life cycle: cysts, flagellates, and trophozoites. It is the trophozoite form that causes human disease.

Naegleria are ‘thermophilic’ meaning that they prefer warmer water. However, the cysts are able to survive for months in very cold water. Thus, Naegleria infection is found both in tropical and temperate climates.

Although there are many species of Naegleria, including Naegleria gruberi, only Naegleria fowleri causes human infection. There are other free-living amoebas that cause human disease, including Acanthamoeba.

The organism was officially discovered in Australia in 1965 by Dr M Fowler and Dr R Carter although it’s believed to have occasionally infected humans for centuries. Fortunately, humans are rarely infected with Naegleria fowleri.

The disease was first reported to have surfaced in Karachi, the commercial hub of the country, in 2006 but this year's outbreak has been deadlier making the citizens more concerned.

The awareness campaigns by the concerned authorities can help immensely in combating the deadly disease. The NGOs as well as the government sector should mobilize all their resources in spreading the precautionary measures that could save precious lives.

Karachi Inferno: Factory cleared after 41 hours

The factory building, which was gutted in a massive blaze that claimed 289 lives, was cleared Thursday morning  after 41 hours of rescue work, officials said.

Chief fire officer Ehtishamud Din said the operation continued all night long and after drainage machines pumped water out of the basement the building is now cleared after 41 hours.

Talking to media, he said the upper three floors had already been cleared but problems were faced clearing the basement as it was filled with water and had became extremely hot as a result of continued 18-hour fire.

The fire officer Ehtisham asserted there is no more dead body left at the factory now.

Earlier at night, the second floor of the gutted garment factory caught fire again; however, the fire-tenders brought it under control.

On Thursday morning, affected families staged protest demonstration as the heavy machinery could not be transported to the blaze site, which delayed the relief work at the basement of the factory.

The affected people warned they will themselves drain out the accumulated water after breaking the wall of the factory, if the administration continues to display disregard over the tragedy of so immense proportions.

As many as 217 bodies were kept at Edhi Center; of them, 107 have been delivered to the bereaved families after identification process.

Eight bodies will be dispatched to different areas of Punjab including Muzaffargarh and Rahim Yar Khan.

Edhi Center Sohrab Goth’s official said the bodies being shifted to Punjab cities will be given free-of-cost service.

The loss of lives of 289 innocent people in a factory conflagration has saddened the atmosphere of the metropolis.

Announcing three-day mourning, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) has called off all organizational and political activities in grief over the incident that claimed 289 lives.

Chief Justice (CJ) of Pakistan and Judges of the Supreme Court offered condolence and prayed for the departed souls of workers who got killed in the factory fire at Karachi and Lahore.

Chief Justice and  Judges assembled Thursday before the start of proceedings of their respective Benches and offered Fateha for the workers of the tragic incidents who were caught in a deadly fire and perished. May Allah Almighty bless their souls and provide strength to their families to bear this irreparable loss. (The Nation)

KMC TO SELL SHOPS OF MALL OF KARACHI THROUGH PUBLIC HOUSING SCHEME

KMC will start booking of shops at ground floor and mezzanine floor of “Mall of Karachi” (Shahabuddin Market in Saddar) through public housing scheme before Ramadan. Metropolitan Commissioner Matanat Ali Khan said this while chairing a meeting on the construction of Shahabuddin Market. 

The meeting was attended by Senior Director Transport & Communication Muhammad Ather, Senior Director Finance Munawwar Imam, Chief Engineer Muhammad Taha, Director Public Housing Scheme Sabah-us-Salam and other officers. Metropolitan Commissioner on this occasion said that KMC will generate revenue through selling shops of Shahabuddin Market through public housing scheme and for this purpose a scheduled bank with its branches will sell the forms and receive the applications in all Pakistan. 

Application forms would be received by paying Rs. 1000/-.Allotment of the shops will be through computerized draw. He further said that this project has been renamed as “Mall of Karachi” .MC said that construction work on this project is going on speedily and this project will worth 735 million and its first phase will complete in 15 months.

SKM equals Aziz Rehmatullah’s record of 12 sports books

By bringing out Asian Glory, Syed Khalid Mahmood (SKM) has equaled the record of A Aziz Rehmatullah, who’s believed to have held the record of authoring the highest number books on the subject of sports.  

The record is being now jointly held by Aziz Rehmatullah, one of the doyens of cricket statisticians in Pakistan, and Syed Khalid Mahmood, a prolific scribe and analyst, as both of them have a dozen books each to their credit.

Aziz Rehmatullah’s maiden title, 26 Years of Pakistan Cricket, was published in 1979 and his last book, Calendar Year’s Kings, came out in 2002.

In between he authored World Cricket Annual (1980), Cricket Close Up (1981), Pakistan Test Cricketers (1981), Masters of Cricket (1982), Who’s Who in Test Cricket (1984), An Eye on Test Cricket (1986), 35 Years of Pakistan Cricket (1987), The Book of One-day Internationals (1989), Pakistan in One-day Internationals (1996) and Who’s Who in One-day Internationals (2001).

Syed Khalid Mahmood debuted as a published author with Focus on World Cup in 1987 and has gone on to write The Caribbean Challenge (1989), Pakistan’s Triumph in World Cup 1992 (1993), Pakistan: The Land of World Champions (1995), Pakistan’s Sports Greats (1997), So Near Yet So Far (2000), Spotlight on World Cup 2003 (2005), Top of the Charts (2005), Mission Caribbean (2007), Cricket Fever (2008), Reflections (2010) and Asian Glory (2012).  

Ehsan Qureshi, having pioneered the idea of publishing books on World Cup cricket tournaments, has authored eight books already and the ninth one is under publication.

He’s the author of The Book of One-day Internationals (1986), Pakistan Snooker Book (1991), World Cup 1992 (1993), World Cup 1996 (1997), World Cup 1999 (2000), World Cup 2003 (2004), Fiasco (2008) and Crash of the Titans (2011).

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