Upon entering the building and thoroughly searching the ground floor, I did not find a reception
LAHORE: Mr Shabaz Sharif, we welcome your efforts in the field of infrastructure development, but there are factors which need to be looked at to make this country a place worth living in. These factors carry a moral significance. My visits to government offices are quite sporadic but after my experience at the Wapda Lesco Exchange Office at Kalma Chowk, Lahore, I am glad I only seldom visit these places. The visit even made me contemplate leaving this country where citizens are not given proper deference. Upon entering the building and thoroughly searching the ground floor, I did not find a reception. I walked upstairs to the complaints room, where only one out of the three desks had an attendant. I told him that I was visiting to file a rectified bill which previously contained some errors. The attendant asked me to go to the second floor. I asked for the room number but got no reply. Ignoring his indifference to my question, I took the staircase, which had no lights.
On the second floor, I found the administration room where staff attendance, again, was 33 per cent. I was sent to room number 12 where I was then told to go to the department housed in the basement. The basement seemed like a torture cell rather than a government office meant to serve people. Thanks to my companion’s cell phone flashlight, we reached the basement. After again going from room to room, I was told that the person I needed to meet with would arrive in an hour and a half. This is the condition of the government of Pakistan, which claims to be a saviour when it comes to easing citizens’ hardships. Due to nepotism in government departments, undeserving people are put on the payroll but all they want to do is escape their duties until they are fed with big bucks to get the work done. After Wapda became a semi-government department, its website improved, but the quality of service has deteriorated for everyone except for the affluent classes, which can easily afford the bribes required to accomplish tasks. I would like Mr Shahbaz Sharif to look into the listed concerns. Because Wapda is a lucrative department, investment can be made to improve the conditions therein.
Hashim Ali Khan
Published in The Express Tribune, August 20th, 2015.
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