Our sweet and bitter morning walks

Pindiites love my morning walks. They enjoy the birds chirping, the greenery, the flowers, and the crows cawing and flying. It is unfortunate that sometimes they come across some annoying and disgusting sights as well. For example, people talking loudly on their mobiles and men peeing on the roadside.

“I am always wary of any cyclist who goes past a little too close to me. Though I do not wear too many pieces of jewellery, I do hide the chain I wear within my dress and close it with a ‘duppatta’ as well,” says Nazia Batool. “The other day, I was unnerved when a cyclist whizzed past me, did a circle, and stood at the footpath where I was walking. I walked fast and looked back. No, he was a harmless cyclist, but he was doing that which annoyed and disgusted me. He was talking aloud on his cell phone. Most obnoxious! I felt cheated of enjoying all the beauty of nature around me. How dare he spoil my beautiful morning,” says Irfan Hussain.

“Until a few years ago, whenever I heard a hello behind me, I would turn around to see if it was any of my friends. Nowadays, there are any number of people on the roads saying hello so loudly into their cell phones, that I often miss wishing my real friends as I avoid turning and looking back,” says Hasan Askari. “Civic bodies try to educate citizens by announcements of not throwing garbage on the roads, requesting them to hand it over to the trolley, or just leave them in packed garbage bags in front of their houses. However, this does not work all the time. The garbage bags are usually in front of the houses until 10.00 AM. The crows and street dogs have a field day with the bags,” says Zaman Abbas.

“It is sad that we Pindiites have become thick-skinned to the non-existent civic sense of our populace, and prefer to suffer in silence. I wish the civic bodies’ employees would scream at the men peeing on the roadsides. They should be caught by the collars and fined heavily,” says Nade Ali. “I often hide on my balcony which faced a small lane, with a basket full of small stones. I rather love the idea of pelting people who pee on the streets. I would throw the pellets at every man who stood there to pee or empty his bowels shamelessly. In spite of setting up a number of public toilets, people would rather take advantage of the roadside,” says Ali Asghar.

Harsam Raza says, “I really am not sure how this problem can be solved. Even if we do find a solution, who will bell the cat? That is the question. Let the civic bodies do.”