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| Mystery behind the ticking clock! |
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Wednesday, March 04, 2009
Noor Aftab
Islamabad
There may be only one person in the twin cities who keeps a close vigil over each passing minute and he does it to earn his livelihood as he has been assigned with a task to manually operate a big clock placed at the Jinnah Avenue in the federal capital.
While driving a car or walking down the Jinnah Avenue hundreds of persons certainly pay attention to the big clock, placed at a small artificial hillock, but may fail to understand the mysterious phenomenon that has been formulated to keep it update round the clock. The clock having 40 feet of diameter was initially operated electronically but now it is operated manually by an employee named Ejaz, who lives in a small room secretly constructed under the hillock. A young boy, Ejaz who came to Islamabad from his native town Bahawalpur in search of a job after leaving his studies due to some financial constraints, landed in a situation where he readily accepted the job of the clock-handler against the monthly salary of Rs8,000. His room where he stays round the clock was constructed in such a mysterious manner that it is really hard to find its small outer door at the backside of the hillock. A small video camera has been placed at the street light pole near the hillock that sends the view of the clock at the television monitor installed in his small room.
Ejaz moves the legs of the clock after every few minutes through a handle placed in his room and if the clock shows wrong time than it means he is out either to get his meal or for some other work.
Former CDA chairman Kamran Lashari, generally known for his outstanding aesthetic sense, approved the project of erecting the clock, which was itself unique in its nature. The steel-made legs of the clock that give a look of wooden pieces due to their colour can be easily moved with the help of pulley hooks connected with the handle placed in the room.
Ejaz stays in his room all the day as part of his official duty that provides him with enough time to prepare for his intermediate examinations. The scattered books and other reading material along with a small transistor radio are nowadays his companions in a room that provides no glimpse of the outer world.
Contractor Asim carried out the project on the directives of a CDA director who had first seen this kind of clock in China. When contacted Contractor Asim said he had prepared a project concept-I worth Rs8 million but CDA refused to provide the funds. “I contacted a private steel mill that showed its willingness to pay monthly charges if its name was displayed in the clock, and now it is paying him in line with the agreement,” he said.
Asim said the clock could be operated in three different ways and handling it electronically is the easiest way. He said he was also working on a plan to place a much bigger clock having 100 feet of diameter at the Faizabad flyover by the middle of this year.
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ISSN 1563-9479 
