Pakistan Railways operate Eid trains despite resource constraints

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi

The second Eid Special Train, with 890 passengers on board, left Karachi Cantonment Station for Rawalpindi at its schedule departure time of 11 am on August 17. The Pakistan Railways will be operating three special trains on Eid-ul-Fitr.

The first Eid special train had left Karachi Cantonment Station on August 16 with 780 passengers on board while the third Eid special train will operate from Peshawar to Lahore on August 18 which would be of economy class to cater to the rush.

The Pakistan Railways, General Manager (Operation), Junaid Qureshi, saw off the train on August 17, stating that the organization operated three special trains this year despite difficult conditions and resource constraints.

Talking to the media at Cantonment Station, the GM explained that Railways was being run under heavily odd conditions and that even in such circumstances the work of the operational, commercial and other staff merited appreciation.

Later chairing a meeting of some Principal Officers from Lahore and Divisional officers, Junaid Qureshi reviewed the railway’s problems of mechanical nature, locomotives and rehabilitation of track.

The Pakistan Railways, Divisional Superintendent, Karachi, Anzar Ismail Rizvi, categorically denied black marketing of tickets as reported in a section of the press.

He said that unlike the previous years, this year more stringent measures had been taken to check black marketing of tickets and it was due to this  that not a single such complaint as well as excess fare payment was received.

He remarked that in both the Eid special trains, the railways has provided better facilities of light, water and washrooms and travelling people appreciated the same.

In the context of alleged report of black marketing of tickets, the DS Railways said that reservation for two Special trains had started on August 11 with booking of 313 seats at city station reservation office, 388 on 12^th, 401 on 13^th, 150 on 14^th, 116 on 15^th and 275 on 16^th. He said even left over seats were purchased by intending passengers from Cantonment Station’s current reservation counter even before the departure of trains.

At Cantonment Station’s current booking office, the railway earned a revenue of Rs 1.4 million on August 12, Rs 1.5 million on 13^th, Rs 1.65 million on 14^th, Rs 1.965 million on 15th and a record Rs 3.293 million on 16^th.

He contended that these figures were self-explanatory to negate the report of black marketing of tickets.

Meanwhile in a major operation the Pakistan Railways Karachi Division retrieved its 18 acres of precious land near Shah Latif Town which had been occupied by powerful land mafia.

The Divisional Superintendent, Anzar Ismail Rizvi, disclosed that  this 18 ares piece of land was part of 357 acres of land located in Jumma Goth near Shah Latif Town and was meant for rehabilitation of people who would face dislocation during execution of Karachi Circular Railway project.

He revealed that the land was reoccupied by the railway authorities after an operation carried out with the help of the district administration.

KPT observes Independence Day with traditional fervour

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi

The Karachi Port Trust (KPT), observed the 65^th Independence Anniversary of Pakistan, with traditional fervour on August 14. Quran Khwani and special prayers were held at all the KPT mosques after Fajr Prayers while the siren of KPT Head Office and entire vessels in the harbour sounded for two minutes started at 8:58 am.

The newly appointed KPT Chairman, Jawed Hanif Khan, performed the flag hoisting at a graceful ceremony at the Head Office at 9:00 am and inspected the neatly dressed squads of Port Security Force, Port Fire Service, Port Civil Defence, Traffic Department, Marine Apprentices and Karachi Sea Scouts while a neatly dressed band presented the guard of honour.

As usual, the KPT Head Office and Keamari Boat Basin building were profusely illuminated during the nights falling on August 13 and 14.

The KPT Chairman distributed the Best Employee Awards of the Year to each of the selected candidates of every division of the organization, encouraging them and all others to perform even better in future.

Jawed Hanif Khan, a veteran of the District Management Group of the Civil Superior Services (CSS), replaced Mohammad Aslam Hayat as Chairman of the KPT a couple of weeks ago.

He had started his professional career in 1986, having done Bachelor of Engineering (Civil) from the NED University of Engineering & Technology, Master of Arts (Economics) and Bachelor of Laws from the University of Karachi.

Before joining the KPT, he was serving as Director General of Planning and Development at the Port Qasim Authority. Previously he worked as District Coordination Officer of the City District Government Karachi, Deputy Commissioner of Karachi Central and Deputy Commissioner of Sukkur and Badin.

Jawed Hanif’s rich experience of management and administration would come handy for a vibrant institution like the KPT which has initiated quite a few mega projects, with the collaboration of private sector, during the last few years which include the state-of-the-art food court, Port Grand, at Native Jetty and Jinnah Rotary Bridge.

The KPT will be further strengthened with his expertise as more development work is planned to be carried out in the near future aimed at making Karachi Port the primary hub of maritime activity in the region.

SSUET, MAJU celebrate Independence Day with honour and dignity

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi

Pakistan’s Independence Day was celebrated at the Sir Syed University of Engineering & Technology (SSUET), Karachi, with great honuor and dignity, on August 14.

An impressive flag hoisting ceremony marked the Day. The Vice Chancellor, Prof Dr Syed Jawaid Hassan Rizvi, hoisted the national flag which was followed by singing of national anthem by the students and faculty members of the University.

On the occasion glowing tributes were paid to those who had sacrificed their lives during the struggle for having an independent homeland.

The ceremony was attended, among others, by Prof. Dr. Najeeb Siddiqui, Associate Dean of Faculty of Engineering, Mukhtar Ahmed Naqvi, Consultant CEP, Chairmen of all the departments, Acting Registrar, Syed Ejazullah Hussaini, Khumar Farooqui, Consultant, Literary, Art and Cultural Forum, besides faculty and other staff members.

Addressing the ceremony the Vice Chancellor called for continued efforts to make Pakistan a progressive and developed state where people lived with honor and dignity and in peace according to the tenets of Islam.

“We are facing some serious challenges these days that need to be resolved collectively,” he said adding that today there is great need for unity and tolerance to make Pakistan progress economically. He reckoned that the future of Pakistan is bright.

“Let us all resolve on this occasion that we will keep the flag of our nation flying high and will march forward to the path of progress and prosperity,” Prof. Dr Rizvi exhorted

On the occasion the university students presented national and patriotic songs which were responded by the guests with enthusiastic and continued clapping.

The ceremony concluded with prayer led by Mufti Rashid-ul-Qadri for national progress and prosperity of the Muslim Umma.

The Independence Day was also celebrated with great fervour and zeal at the Mohammed Ali Jinnah University (MAJU) where Director, Prof Dr Abdul Wahab, performed the flag hoisting ceremony.

Speaking on the occasion Prof Dr Wahab urged upon the younger generation to rise to the occasion and work hard to lead Pakistan to its destined goal. He said that great responsibility devolves upon the students who have to take over the reigns of the country in their future and steer the ship of the nation towards progress, prosperity and greater welfare of the people.

SSUET Professor offered fellowship by EU's Consortium of Universities

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi

Engr Inam-ul-Ahad, an Assistant Professor in the Bio-Medical department at Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology (SSUET), Karachi, has been awarded Erasmus Mundus Joint Doctorate (EMJD) Fellowship from the European Commission under the consortium of universities offering Erasmus Mundus Joint Doctorate in Extreme-ultraviolet and X-ray Technology and Training for Interdisciplinary Cooperation.

EXTATIC is a three-year programme being offered by Dublin City University, Czech Technical University in Prague, RWTH Aachen University, University College Dublin, University of Padua, Military University of Warsaw, Kings College London, and the University of Southampton.

During the course of this fellowship, which he will join in September this year, Engr Inam, who has studied at Fachhochschule Furtwangen, Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft, will primarily research on applications of Extreme Ultraviolet photons in Biomedical Engineering.

The EMJD programmes are designed to foster cooperation between higher education institutions and academic staff in and around the world with a view to creating poles of excellence and providing highly trained human resources.

The overarching objective of EMJD is to provide high level training in Extreme UV (EUV) and X-ray science to a new generation of high achieving graduate students to provide them with the transferable skills necessary for thriving careers in a burgeoning area that underpins innovative technological development across a range of diverse disciplines.

Railways to start campaign against ticketless travelling menace

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi

The Pakistan Railways Karachi Division has warned that passengers travelling on tickets not issued their own name would be treated as ticketless and charged with actual fare along with penalty.

The warning has arrived in a set of guidelines issued on the directives of the Divisional Superintendent, Anzar Ismail Rizvi, to facilitate the genuine passengers.

The DS Railways revealed that the step was taken as part of measures adopted to check black marketing of tickets which is believed to be at its peak in the season of Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Azha when a large number of people prefer commuting on trains.

Millions of Karachi residents, settled in the commercial capital of the country to earn their livelihoods, try level best to travel to their respective native towns and villages. Even by running additional Eid Trains, the Railways authorities find it difficult to cope with the massive numbers of upcountry-bound passengers.

The Pakistan Railways, however, has decided to facilitate the passengers by controlling the menace of ticketless travelling as well as curbing black-marketing of the tickets.

Anzar Rizvi disclosed that the Divisional Commercial Officers have been deputed to check passengers travelling without ticket or on tickets issued on fake names, adding that strict checking in this regard will start from August 10 and will continue till Eid days.

He further stated that besides commercial staff, the non-commercial staff will also be deputed to check ticketless travelers and for this purpose they are being imparted a special training.

The DS Railways hoped that intending travelers would follow the guidelines issued for passenger’s facilitation and thus play their due role towards bringing improvement in the service.

As per guidelines issued, any one coming on reservation counter for booking of  seat, will have to carry the NIC of the actual traveler and while having a reservation also leave his/her mobile telephone number with the counter clerk.

The intending passengers have been advised that before leaving the counter compulsorily check that the ticket issued to them does carry their name besides checking the name of destination station and date of departure.

The passengers have been told that before leaving the counter, must take the balance amount and in case of any excess payment, make a complaint to concerned officer or Station Manager so that proper action could be taken in the matter.

Anzar Rizvi admitted that the Pakistan Railways was passing through a very difficult phase of its history and he appealed to the travelling public to exercise patience in case a train suffered late departure and extend their cooperation to staff on duty at the railway station.

He urged that in such a case, the staff on duty should not be subjected to violence and also to avoid causing damage to facilities provided for public at the station.

SSUET, University of Malaga sign MoU for collaboration

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi

The Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology (SSUET), Karachi, Pakistan, and the University of Malaga (UMA), Spain, have agreed to sign a formal MoU in near future to pave way for enhanced collaboration.

This was disclosed by Engr Mohammad Aamir, Assistant Professor at SSUET’s Electronics department, who was awarded a grant as full sponsorship by Spanish Ministry of Education during his stay at the Malaga University.

During his stay at the Malaga University,  Engr  Aamir  worked on FPGA based simulations as part of his PhD work,  which focuses on Energy Management using SCADA.

Using tools available in the state of the art laboratories of the Malaga University he carried out different design simulations in order to accurately evaluate the expected outcomes of FPGA-based design of Remote Terminal Unit as essential part of SCADA.

According to him, the joint collaboration was successfully established between research group titled ‘Grupo I+D Ingeneiria de Communicacions’ at the Malaga University and ‘RF Optimization’ research activities at the Sir Syed University of Engineering & Technology.

Engr Amir, who is doing his PhD from Mehran University of Engineering & Technology, added that the initial results of his work within this collaboration were presented in the First mobility for Life Conference on ‘Telecommunication, Technology and Problem Based Learning’ held in March 2012 in Thailand under the title of ‘Optimal Design of Remote Terminal Unit for Wireless SCADA System for Energy Management.’

The simulations carried out have been a further step in this research work and both universities agreed to sign a formal Memorandum of Understanding in near future to further enhance the collaboration between them.

Spain’s Málaga University (UMA) is a public institution which has been actively promoting outstanding research and teaching within the European Higher Education Area.

The institution follows an educational model to promote competitive, quality teaching which is employment-orientated and accredited in Europe. Its vigour and growth over recent years have led to it becoming a reference point for universities in Spain.

With a university community of just over 40,000 people, over the last decade UMA has sought to promote the internationalisation of its teaching and research and the mobility of its teachers and students.

SSUET students produce Rope Climbing Surveillance Robot

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi

Another feather was added to the cap of the Sir Syed University of Engineering & Technology (SSUET), Karachi, when four of its students came up with an innovative product which could create waves.

The group of four students of the Computer Engineering department of batch 2008 comprising of Kinza Zafar, Murtaza Ali, Faizan Mahmood and Noorul Saba, under the supervision of faculty member Noman Khan, have designed and produced a modern Rope Climbing Surveillance Robot installed with the latest technology that can transfer luggage and heavy material from one place to another, even to the high places. They took seven months to produce the robot at a cost of Rs 70,000.

Installed with cameras, it can also keep an eye on the goods and activities of human resource. The robot easily moves through the rope in any direction and it can automatically run by the remote with fed information.

Kinza Zafar revealed that the robot can be used in the construction field, warehouses etc. to carry goods and other material from one place to the other, and also to check the goods and activities of the persons. She disclosed that the material used in the robot is although available in Pakistan but it is very expensive.

“The Rope Climbing Robot with Surveillance Capability can climb rope vertically and horizontally. It can be operated with the help of remote control or automatically. It has a moveable camera on its head for surveillance purpose. It has weight carrying and dropping feature. It can carry pay load of 2-3 kg,” she explained.

“Industries and organizations can hire our services to produce robot for them commercially since we have skill and technique. We only need heavy machinery,” Kinza stated.