I was seriously disappointed with the discriminatory ticketing system and shameful mismanagement I witnessed at the Patriata chairlift in Murree recently. The Tourism Development Corporation of Punjab (TDCP) has classified tickets into Executive (Rs3,000) and General (Rs1,500) categories. This is nothing but a grossly anti-public approach.
The General ticket holders — including families, women, the elderly and children — are made to stand in queues for three or even more hours in extreme weather conditions, while Executive ticket holders are given instant access. This blatant favouritism is a violation of equality and decency in public service.
Adding insult to injury, I saw TDCP officers shamelessly using the cable cars themselves, while people continued to wait in endless queues even after paying Rs1,500 per head. In multiple instances, cable cars with a capacity of 8-10 people were dispatched with only a couple of TDCP officials, wasting time, increasing delays, and blatantly subjecting the public to sheer disgrace.
My personal misery at Patriata lasted 7.5 hours, nearly 6.5 hours of which were spent in poorly managed queues with no shade, no drinking water, no staff assistance. The only thing available in abundance was utter chaos. The site was a picture of negligence and disorder, expo- sing failure of TDCP management.
It seems that tourism is a luxury reserved for the elite. Facilities built with public money must serve all equally. The current two-tier system promotes inequality, and, therefore, must be abolished immediately.
MUHAMMAD AMIN
KARACHI
