Karachi being a coastal city, the only form of entertainment easily available for us Karachiites is the beach. Come any weekend or a public holiday literally hundreds flock to the Arabian Sea to beat the heat wave, and they all have fun. Summers are great to be on the beach but then again literally everyone is there and there is usually a large crowd on the weekends. To truly enjoy the beach one has to be there on either a weekday or during the off-season (October to April) that is when one can really enjoy the Karachi waves, a bit chilly but definitely much quieter.

A few days back I did take the short drive to the beach with a few friends and really enjoyed the few hours of tranquility. But not before being confronted with a small argument about the Manora Entertainment Fee at the collection post, I like everyone else have always been forced to coughed up the toll that they demand, but when you ask for details as to who they represent or for that matter what is the ‘official toll’ they simply respond “dena ha tau do, warna wapis jao” [give it or go back].

The receipt you are handed is a cheaply printed slip with the misspelled words of Sandspeed / Hawksbay Manora Entertainment Fee blemished with a random number, there is no mention of the toll that you are required to pay, and no mention as to which authority they are collecting for. As you can guess this did lead to a small skirmish I had with them more so in the spirit to investigate this issue and also for a citizen journalism story for KMB (yes I did it for you guys – LOL).
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This post could be useful for those who use FTC bridge on their way from Defence/Kalapul to reach Shahrah-e-Faisal during peak traffic hours. A lot of friends fall under this category and have asserted the hack’s usability and are now an addict to the same. KMB presents this for the masses here:

The FTC bridge end that lands at SF is generally controlled by a traffic policeman trying to regulate the same so that SF traffic can flow smoothly. For a number of weeks, the very area is also a scene of some chronic ground digging that has rendered the road bumpy. Both these factors clog up the entire semi-circle of the bridge section and traffic headed for SF just sticks there for eternity. It takes at least ten and at times even fifteen minutes for the motorist to reach from the top of the bridge to SF via this route.

Like a close secret that travels seena-ba-seena (chest-to-chest) from one person to another, a friend of mine told me a hack that just works, everyday! Such is the usability of the hack that he wanted me not to tell anyone else lest the secret would no longer remain one!

The hack is to take left instead of right from the top of the bridge (better if you start off the bridge’s climb in the left-most lane as it is the fastest moving one) and get down the bridge on the part that connects to Sadar area. Once on ground, move forward (do not take the wrong, over-the-island cut that some people have started using), take a proper U-turn and move back towards Shahrah-e-Faisal. Now you would be under the bridge and will find very little resistance to join the main stream of traffic which would be moving at a faster rate.

Avoid looking with mercy to your left where the policemen and the road bumps are holding the non-KMB readers in long queues of wait! :)

p.s: This hack is 100% ethical, does not break any traffic rules and can save you over 400 minutes of stuck-on-the-road every month!

Yesterday, to celebrate and honor the lively of sprit of Gulgee’s art and to pay condolences to his family, artists and art lovers gathered together for an evening organized by Nukta.Art and “The Second Floor” at T2F. Among the speakers were Mohammad Ali Siddiqui, Naz Ikramullah and Niilofur Farrukh. Also Present at the venue were Gulgee’s son Amin and two of Gulgee’s sisters who have yet to grasp the fact that the loving couple, the lively Gulgee and his wife Zarrin are no more amongst them.
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The pictures of paint factory in SITE area that caught fire have been released on flickr. Take a look. Very intense! I don’t know how they managed to control it.

First, let me describe a mule car. It is necessarily a ‘redundant’ or “2nd car” as we call it, used in tasks with higher wear and tear rates. Some people also like to call it a ‘grocery car’ or to save their new or 1st hand car in a better condition.

So, why do u need a mule car in the first place?
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The Berger Factory caught fire earlier this evening, and had been burning for at least a few hours, before the fire brigade reported through the news media, that it was stated that the fire would not come under control for atleast 48 hours.

Berger, the paint making factory, was full of tremendous chemicals required to make the end product, so though it is being deemed a normal industrial accident.
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Amid jubilation from a large number of pakistani households (mine included) Geo News has resumed transmissions across Pakistan from 6 PM on Monday, by the order of President Pervaiz Musharraf (their first words on the air, not mine).

The News says

A large number of people from different walks of life have termed it the restoration of democracy in the country. They said media freedom would play its role in ensuring free and fair general elections in the country

Now that the media (no blocked news channels) is ‘free’ again do you agree with the above statement?

Continuing our ‘Broadband Dreams’ series of posts which we made in 2007 here (and even earlier in 2006, here), KESC has plans to upgrade its grids to Smart Grid Systems.
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If the Australians do decide to visit Pakistan, it is likely that they will play a match in Karachi. I really hope it’s one-day rather than test (or twenty20 would be even better). Whatever be the case, it’s nice to see some sporting activity in the city again.

[Credit: N. Butt, A.Sami ]