January 2, 2002	Wednesday	Shawwal 17, 1422

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window).

VEHARI, Jan 1: The local government system has failed to rescue people in distress due to lack of coordination among union councils’ Nazims and councillors in the district, Dawn learnt here on Monday.

A survey conducted by this correspondent revealed councillors of all the 26 union councils in the district had developed differences with their Nazims while some of them had parted ways for not receiving due meed of power.

A number of councillors, including Shakil Ahmad Raza, Shaikh Muhammad Sarwar, Saleem Shahid, Ihsan Bajwa, Masood Butt, Sajida, Muhammad Rafiq Kasai, Razia Zafar, Rana Muhammad Javed, Muhammad Boota Gujjar, Saleem Rafiq, Shaikh Muhammad Javed, Mushtaq Ansari and Muhammad Akmal, alleged the Nazims had gained financial benefits from the district Nazim while the councillors were ignored.

They said their proposals in preparation of budget had been rebuffed and Nazims had preferred their favourites. In constituting various committees and allocating development funds for their residing areas, they said not a single workable development project had been included in the budget of any union councillor.

When contacted, some of the Nazims claimed they had nothing except few thousand rupees for the development projects. The useful proposals of the councillors had been incorporated in the budget, they claimed.

Local District Bar Association President Mirza Ijaz Baig, advocate Chaudhry Zahid Anwar, traders Haji Khalid Javed, Muhammad Rafiq, Maqbool Ahmad Mughal, Muhammad Yasin and Dr Muhammad Omar Shah said the DCO and Nazim’s plans for resolving common man’s problems had been restricted to paper work.

VET HOSPITAL: Visitors to the City Veterinary Hospital meet dearth of medicines, out of order equipment and indifferent staff to offer treatment to their cattle.

Farmers have shown resentment over the negligence the hospital is subject to.

A farmer told this correspondent that he took his sick cow to the hospital and no doctor was available. Peon Piran Ditta treated the animal and extorted Rs1,000, however, the animal remained sick.

Several farmers alleged the dispensers in the hospital had set up their own private clinics in rural areas of the district and most of them could be found practicing over there during duty hours.

An insider in the hospital revealed some doctors and dispensers sold medicines illegally to various private stores and clinics and free of cost to influential people provided to them by the Punjab government.

When contacted, Dr Anwarul Haq told this correspondent that no grant was given to the hospital by the district government to purchase medicines and for repairing the out of order equipment, adding the building of the hospital also awaited generous funds.

Meanwhile, the farmers have urged the higher-ups to take stock of the situation and better the situation without delay.