DHA vigilance

KARACHI: This is with reference to your report “Vigilance’ with a vengeance” by Shahzad Jillani (July 1). The report portrays the DHA vigilance team as a horrendous force created to harass people, which is quite contrary to the fact and warrants clarification.

DHA is one of the unique residential estates of the country which has an efficient Vigilance Department responsible for ensuring implementation of the Housing Authority’s by-laws in letter and spirit. The blue uniformed force is highly disciplined, mostly made up of retired ex-soldiers who are trained to be courteous and resident-friendly.

The team recently acted on a resident’s complaint of loud music being played and a film being shot  in a residential area of Seaview, disturbing the peace of the neighborhood. The charges that the team barged into the house and misbehaved with the occupants are baseless and unsubstantiated.

Keeping a check on children playing cricket on the streets outside houses is done with a view to obviate incidence of damage to houses and does not make the vigilance team a monstrous force. Undoubtedly their arduous job is thankless. They deserve our sympathy, support and good will and not harsh criticism.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 13^th, 2010.