WE APOLOGIZE.

By the Administrator of  SahafiOnline.


Few of our readers rightly pointed out that the matter written in one of our published posts was copied from a site. We apologize for the error and want to make it clear that it was not an attempt of intended plagiarism. Sahafionline wants to assure you all that this will definitely not happen again.

 Thank you for your concerns.

Cafe World. . .

By Sehar Dar.

What name comes into your mind when you think of an institution, where almost 24000 students are being served with various edibles at reasonable prices? The answer could not be other than the canteens of University of Karachi.

Regardless of whether you are a student or a teacher, if you want to have any sort of good food during the University timings then no place is more attractive than "KU Main Cafeteria"c (famous as PG within the campus). Surrounded by trees, a number of canteens are present in this impressive environment providing a variety of food to the students at reasonable rates.

According to an opinion of Sumbul Badar,a student from the Department of Micro-biology proper seating arrangement is needed as most of the students have no place to sit and have to stand while eating which seems quite odd.

Nonetheless, with no specific canteen for every department, students flock to the ones closest to their department at times for just food and at others to chill out or to exchange notes and study materials. Girl students in particular are very fond of the samosas and rolls and take dozen or two home in a raw form to serve at home with tea.

Whether it is the low cost samosas of the PG canteen, Jabbar bhai’s chat, Majiday hotel's daal Sufi's Biryaani or daal with paratha and , if one studies at the University of Karachi then these are the things that should never be missed out.. The food items including "Chinese Rice", "Biryani", "Chaat", "Chicken roll", "Fries" and famous "Aloo Samosa" etc. are usually available at PG. The famous "Samosa" and "Chaat" are specially liked by the students due to their splendid and delicious taste

It has been two years since Professor Dr Abuzar Wajidi has been made head of the team that monitors the canteens. Though he is unaware of the actual prices of food or the number of canteens on the university campus he claims that his team is competent and is taking care of the affair pretty well.

The Vice-Chancellor of the university, Dr Pirzada Qasim, maintains that he understood that the number of tuck shops on the campus are not sufficient for huge number of students of the University.

He shows his concern about the tuck shops and said "We are trying to improve not only the quality of the food but also the ambiance of the canteens".
The VC also  maintains that "The quality of food and prices are monitored and are looked after, and if someone tries to defy the rules, then he is penalised, fined or his licence is cancelled".

However, few students complained about the poor hygienic condition. Also few students said that though all the food items are sold here at a very reasonable and cheap prices but cleanliness of the place is usually neglected here..

However, the complains regarding the quality of food and hygienic conditions are something that should be considered by keeping a proper check by the KU administration.

But the very important thing is that these cafeterias, canteens and specially "Dhabaaz" are contributing a memorable part to the students' lives. The rush, the trees, and long lines of students buying food are something the students of KU want to remember.

My hats off to 'HER'. . .

By Sana Batool Naqvi.

When we (Members of Sahafionline) started working on Blog,our nervousness was at its peak..and we had two reasons behind this ..

First reason.!..We all were new to the world of 'Blog'
Second reason.!The group members except few did not have the comfort zone that allows to talk freely to each other...

Keeping in mind these major problems,we felt nervous ,troubled and fearful..and realized how difficult a team work can be .

Our biggest concern was to please our teacher who assigned us 'THE' task, as all of us are aware of her capacity for knowlegde and understanding and her ability to think abstractly and profoundly..

We still know that we can't reach upto the level of her knowlegde and there is still so much for us to learn if we want to please and amuse her with our abilities of writing.

For this blog assignment our class has been divided into three groups each having nine to ten members ..few days back our teacher made us aware of the reality that our blog group(Sahafionline) is by far at the third position and is surely going to get the lowest marks..after a prolonged discussion we realized the reason behind our slow progress and our weaknesses..

Being the administrater of my blog group I felt bad ,not because of the criticism by her side,but because of the feeling that I could'nt do my job the way she wanted me to do.
She told me about issues that I should look into . I kept all those points in my mind that she highlighted.. .
With her guidance ,I discussed those issues with all my group members and asked them for suggestions as well as complains ...surprisingly all of them gave me a wonderful response and assured me of their support and co-operation..
Few lines for my team members..

Thank you for the good times.

The days you filled with pleasure

Thank you for those memories

And for kindness,I'll always treasure.



Since that day ,all the members co-operated like never before..all of them kept asking me about their turns,discussed their articles with me and assist me with my job.I got constructive ideas ,suggestions and plans from all the members.

Thank you all for all the things

That mean so much to me,

For concern and understanding ,

You give abundantly..

It was not our group discussion,ideas,plans or anything but it was the crticism  of our teacher that gave us the energy and enthusiasm to work for our progress.

We took her disappointment as a challenge and worked even harder to reach upto the mark of her satisfaction..

And now,we feel that our blog has gained a little bit of her attention and interest as she whole heartedly encouraged our members on their interesting articles and ideas behind them..All this made us feel that we have almost won her heart..

She motivated our team members to write and work even better.She explained the strategy of how to work in a group,how to manage things when we have so many brains and ideas that ultimately leads to arguements..
.
I would like to write a few lines for our repected teacher..

We really appreciate,

how you made us learn thro' fun

Thank you so very much,

for what you have said and done..

For the first time in my life I have realized the importance of criticism by a teacher and how their dissappointment can let  you move ahead with new spirits and challenges and ultimately helps you acheieve your goals..

My hats off to our wonderful ....Ma'am Saadia.

HEJ developed treatment of a disease.

By Zoobia Noor.

Researchers belonging to the University of Karachi (KU) Hussein Ebrahim Jamal (HEJ) Research Institute of Chemistry have developed a herbal ointment for the treatment of a common skin disease, leishmaniasis.

HEJ Research Institute of Chemistry Director Prof Dr M Iqbal Choudhary described the study on leishmaniasis as the first of its kind in the region. This research was conducted in collaboration with Jinnah Post Graduate Medical College Dermatology Department Head Dr Azam Samdani and Dermatologist and Larkana Leprosy Unit In-charge Dr Farooq Soomro.


Leishmaniasis is an infectious skin disease that looks like a wound and is caused by the parasite, leishmania. The disease is transmitted through the bite of sand files usually active in the evening and night. These flies breed in dense vegetation and caves or burrows of small rodents. The infection due to the parasite shows on the skin and the disease usually shows on the hands, feet and face, said Research Officer .

Cutaneous (skin) leishmaniasis is most common in Pakistan and is seen in the people of Balochistan, upper Sindh and northern mountainous areas, mostly in the winter. This disease is caused by a different species of leishmania, including leishmania major and leishmania tropica. In 2001, the biggest outbreak of this disease was seen in districts of Larkana, Sukkur and Dadu.


The treatment of the disease involves the drug pentavelant antimonials but as it has severe side effects as well as the fact that the parasite is becoming resistant to the drug is limiting its usefulness.
Administering the medicine via an injection is painful and the drug is expensive too besides it has side effects, whereas a herbal ointment extracted from garlic bulbs and different plant species has little to no side effects and can be easily applied to the patient's skin.


Sameen , a researcher maintained that five years of research have shown that this is the cheapest treatment, which all patients can afford.

During the primary study, when the herbal ointment was applied to 200 patients suffering from skin leishmaniasis, 150 patients responded positively. This disease can happen to people of all ages but it is usually common in the elderly.

Leishmaniasis affects the internal organs of the body including the spleen, liver and bone marrow. Visceral leishmaniasis is the second most prevalent type of leishmaniasis in Pakistan after cutaneous leishmaniasis," she further said. This disease is more common in rural areas while the parasites may also be spread through blood transfusions and sharing contaminated needles.

People who have cutaneous leishmaniasis have one or more sores on their skin. These sores can change their size and can become larger over time, while some of the sores are covered by a scab. These sores may be painful or painless. In some cases glands also form near the sores.
This herbal oinment do not have any side effects..

Walls that wail…

By Summya Khan.

One of my fellow bloggers wrote a post on how some students from the English department painted their walls and decorated their long-time ugly walls. It was good to know that at least some of the students are concerned about their atmosphere. But there is one department, where the students are, well, “over” concerned about the environment of their department. They are none other than our own, mass communication students a.k.a. MCDians.

I am certainly not going to criticize my fellows here. It’s just that, their intentions are pure, but they fail to realize that their efforts are damaging the look of the department. For instance, while celebrating “Earth Day”, several pictures of trees and plants were made with the help of newspapers and were pasted onto the walls of the department. The message was clear: keep your environment healthy. Everybody at the department praised the efforts of the students. I, myself, watered plants that day. And after doing that I took pictures of the walls and showed it to my friends from the other departments, proudly, telling them how much we cared.

Few days back, a friend from General History came to visit my department’s building. She instantly spotted the walls and cried out, “what have you done to the walls?” I was startled. When she left, I took a closer look at the walls and noticed that she certainly was right.

All those posters, pictures, pamphlets etc. that were once put on for a purpose (which looked attractive then) were tearing down. All those posters pasted directly onto the walls, carelessly with countless scotch tapes, were now looking old and untidy. As a result, the walls of my department are giving an ugly and messy impression to the eyes.

Since, mass communication is my department; it is my solemn duty to make it look better. But this also goes out to all those students, who like painting walls and putting on posters, that not to paste any pamphlet or poster ‘directly’ onto the walls for it will damage the paint. It’s better to put this stuff on the soft boards provided by the administration.

In the end, I would like to mention that there are some other students, whom I like to call, ‘the troublemakers’. They are the ones who spoil the walls on purpose: mostly by scribbling and by spitting betel nut. My request to these troublemakers is that please do not harm the department’s look by your shameful acts. It not only creates an untidy look but also shows what kind of students resides at this department.

Love street or Food Street???

By Kanwal Naz

My fellow bloggers mentioned a lot of negative points regarding my alma mater. But I would like to mention that Karachi University is one place that has so much to offer other than problems and studies. We have sports, festivals, picnics, clashes (yes we do offer those as well) and last but certainly not the least K.U. has P.G. It is indeed the most exciting place at K.U.

“Prem Galii” means the “love street”. But I guess it is a pseudonym. “Prem Galii” has everything except for “prem” (love). Why? Well it is because of the overwhelming presence of students from each and every department. According to physics, matter always has a center of gravity, and P.G. is the center of gravity of our university. It’s the closest canteen to each faculty. All the students rush towards P.G. to enjoy their time off. Therefore, lots and lots of students can be found at this place throughout the morning shift. And as we all know that “prem” that is “love”, unlike misery, doesn’t like company. As a result, all the “love birds” prefer to fly north of P.G. i.e. the sociology department or east i.e. the Vallika Ground.

To tell the truth, it is simply a canteen where students come to enjoy or have lunch. But the place is really a blessing because it has all the junk food there is in this world. From oily ‘parathas’
to ‘bun kebabs’ to greasy spring rolls to mouth-watering “gol gappas”. You name it, you got it. They even have “biryani” there which is not commonly found at other universities. To be short and precise, if you ever get bored of your canteen’s club sandwiches, just come and visit P.G. and you will get all what you want.

Whenever there is a function at K.U. for example the Independence Day, P.G. is a must to be visited. You will find all the students together having the time of their lives. Even the outsiders love to come and visit P.G. whenever there is a special occasion. This place is a trademark of our university and we are actually very proud of it.

To all those people who haven’t visited P.G.: visit “prem galii” if you have “prem” for food and do not miss out on “sagar bhai’s” chicken chapati rolls. You will certainly not be disappointed.

We need Security…

By Syeda Nadia Zarif

Security is a big issue these days as the present situation of Pakistan is not at all satisfactory. Terrorists are targeting almost everyone and everywhere even the educational institutions and religious places are not safe from them and our Government has totally failed to control this situation.

In the light of the recent terrorist attempts, almost all of the public and private sectors, on their own, have taken strong measures to safeguard people from any kind of mishap.


But at the same time, our very own Karachi University, once again seems to be really cool about the whole situation. We all know that many educational institutions have been targeted by terrorists in the recent past but still our management is not doing anything appreciable in this regard.

First of all, the undersized boundary walls are welcoming anyone and everyone at all times, with open hands, facilitating terrorists to enter the premises of the varsity at any hour. Secondly, in the name of security we have a small number of security guards, on the four entry gates; they are mostly found having a chit chat or in a deep slumber even during these days when the security ought to be strict.

Also, there is a formality at K.U. that all the students have to show their student I.D. cards to a screaming lady who yells at us with all her might but never checks anyone.

In the end, I would like to mention that we need some reliable security arrangements to make our university a secure place. Firstly, a security staff of educated, sincere, dedicated (not to mention polite) members is needed and they should be provided with Metal Detectors for the proper checking of each and every person entering the varsity gates. There should be a certain building which could serve as the Centralized Security Control Room with necessary equipments and more security guards so that they constantly keep an eye out. CCTV Cameras should be installed at the exit and entry gates of the university. All these measures must be put into action as soon as possible.

One word of advice to our authorities: Let’s not wait for an accident to happen and then regret in front of the media using the words “if only we had enough security”.

Help yourself!!

By Sameen Meher

The University of Karachi is full of energetic students who are hard working and dedicated. (Please don’t laugh) We are indeed. When our esteemed administration fails to provide us anything, we adopt the “God helps those who help themselves” policy. For instance, the pitiable condition of the walls of our faculty is as old as the hills. And no one, I repeat, no one in the administration or in the management pays heed to the innumerable pleas coming out from the concerned students. As a result, it is “us”, the students who do the job ourselves.

It is noticeable that some departments of the arts faculty have become too old and their walls like those of Mohenjo daro. But the authorities still pretend to remain oblivious of the situation. It so happens, that when all attempts to get their attention, fail, students from their respective departments rise to the occasion and take the job into their own hands, using their time and cash to decorate their departments and classes all by themselves.

Last year, during the students’ week the students of Psychology, Education and English literature contributed their efforts to embellish their classrooms and walls. They paid for the oil paints and made colorful charts for the walls.

Students of the English literature department did not only paint the walls of their classes but also renovated their seminar library. Also, the students of Education and Psychology made beautiful charts related to their subjects that made the walls look attractive like never before.

Now the outsiders, get a good impression of the university (and mistakenly of the management) when they see all that decoration.

Therefore, I think the management of KU is totally useless and the students ought to make a committee to collect funds from chancellor and take care of their departments themselves.