Despite repeated rhetoric by the authorities (March 31, 2007: No leniency in plastic bag ban says Sindh Minister for Environment and Alternative Energy, Dr Saghir Ahmed, April 30, 2007: Drive against plastic bags intensified, city district government claims, March 17, 2007:Plastic bag transportation in and out of the city to be checked says city nazim Mustafa Kamal), it has become increasingly apparent that the environment is the last thing on their agenda. Since the ban against plastic bags below the 30 micron weight limit was put into place last year, both the local city district and provincial governments have come out several times with tall claims about strict enforcement of the ban. Yet we see in practice that their claims couldn’t be further from the truth. Read more

Though some might disagree, CPLC is generally known for their courteous behavior. I for one have not been entirely disappointed by them till a few minutes ago.

Incidentally, I bought a used car yesterday and before making the full payment, I wish to get the registration details verified by CPLC.

The contact numbers for CPLC verification that I got are: 568-2222 & 568-3333.

The 2222 number continuously busy, or no response for the past 1.5 hours, however, the 3333 number is most disappointing.

A lady picks up the phone, and without letting me complete the sentence says, “call 5682222″ and hangs up the phone. I called the number again to ask for an alternative number, but she did the same.

I called a third time and could even say “hello”. She picked up, said to call 2222 number and hung up!

I called the fourth time, told her to let me complete, but alas…..she sort of scolds me for calling that number and hangs up!

In a time when we see drastic improvements in KESC and PTCL call centers, are we losing the quality of call handling by CPLC?

Anyone else faced the same problem? I say give it a go right now!

Karachi Strategic Development Plan 2020 proposes upto 4 ring roads in Karachi. From the looks of it, it sounds good, since one of the biggest problem i’ve faced while commuting in the city was using an alternative.

R1 to R4, slated to be complete by 2020 (which is only 12 years away) in addition to the current roads and expressways in the city, just might help moving people around better…

or it just might create hundreds of more opportunities to be stuck in a traffic jam.

what do you think?

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Not content with the numerous political crisis that have We have some real crisis staring us straight in our eyes - wheat, power, security to name a few. The power crisis is the most obvious one and it hits real hard. The shopkeepers can definitely be of great help if they join forces together to open shops early and close them after sunset. However, the businesses are confronting these suggestions with reasons of their own.

Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI) resenting the proposal of close the shops at 7:30 pm due to the shortage of electricity has called a meeting of small traders on January 16, 2008 to discuss the issue.

KCCI President Shamim Ahmed Shamsi and Abdul Majeed Memon said here on Saturday that Karachi Chamber has all along been opposing such kind of suggestions and giving alternative proposals to the government, to the KESC and to the policy makers and had been able with convincing arguments to get such initiatives reversed.

However, given the growth in power demand in the recent years, the sudden rush of electronics and air conditioning appliances in typical homes in Karachi (also known as a ‘growing middle class’) and the lack of any homework done by the concerned authorities to add new power generation capacities might land us in a situation where there is no way but to live without power for extended period of times throughout the day.

Wateen Telecom, an Abu Dhabi Group venture in Pakistan, will be launching its WiMAX and HFC services for the consumer markets tomorrow, on December 16th, 2007. The launch will allow Wateen customers to have voice, telephony and broadband internet.

Wateen Telecom has been working on establishing a wireless network infrastructure since early 2006, and installed the network in early 2007. Their WiMAX service is a major breakthrough in the Pakistani broadband market as it will be a fast and cost-effective alternative to existing broadband services.
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The recent cold spell has brought with it these colorful heaps of used clothing which are making their appearance felt at the make-shift weekly bazaars around the city as in efficient and inexpensive winter clothing alternative for the poor, under privileged and the struggling middle class of our society, assuring to keep them warm throughout the winters without putting much strain on their already warned out pockets.

One thing that the drivers need to learn more than anything in Karachi is courtesy. If not because its ethical and civilized and all that, then to help themselves.

Here’s why:

The traffic at a round about or a non functioning signal is blocked and there isn’t a traffic policeman in sight. The four way bottleneck has resulted in chaos and every car is just trying to push through to make its own way out. While a few lucky vehicles are successful in zigzagging their way out of the mess, the traffic keeps building at the rear so that what probably started as one man’s impatience has snowballed into a major problem for a few hundred (and that is not an exaggeration).

That’s one way of going about of it but lots of Karachi drivers consider it the only way.
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“Lifehacking” refers to productivity tricks that cut through information overload and organize life in general. They include tips to plan your day, making the best out of your time and resources etc.

We Karachiites face many issues that, if tackled properly, can improve our social as well as individual lives. In this series, I will try to address many such issues, mostly related to our social lives, that affect our fellow citizens, but also others that can help us “hack” our lifestyles for the better.

Here’s the first episode of how to navigate your way through busy traffic!
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Here at the Karachi Metroblog we’ve talked fairly frequently about the elusive dream that reliable and inexpensive broadband is for most of the city’s citizens. But a measure of just how elusive mere 24×7 internet connectivity is, let alone broadband, can be seen in this post at Wired Pakistan where KO narrates how despite installing no less then 8 different types of systems, including but not limited to Dial Up, DSL, Wifi, GPRS, Wimax and others, he’s rarely a satisfied customer:

My office is in the beginning of Korangi, which is Karachi’s (and hence Pakistan’s) premiere industrial area. Email and the internet are a essential part of any business, and thus to ensure reliable internet connectivity we’ve got eight different internet links.

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Almost a year and a half back in March 2006, I made a post ‘Minto Roundabout‘ on the, then newly constructed intersection of Shaheed-e-Millat and Hillpark, this busy intersection was overhauled by the Touchme company and had placed a large model of a toothpaste in the center promoting the Minto Brand (I had a few observations on it then as well).
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