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TOBA TEK SINGH, June 30: District council’s minority members protested on Monday, the last day of the three-day budget session, for ignoring them in the present as well as the last two budgets.
District Nazim Chaudhry Ashfaq assured them that a sufficient grant would be provided to them for the development of their localities.
When women members criticized the budget proposal of allocating Rs500,000 for the welfare of women, the house approved Rs1 million for the purpose.
Later, the house approved unanimously a budget of Rs1.561 billion for the financial year 2003-04.
It also approved the levy of taxes and fees on 15 items and professions, including ammunition manufacturing, brick kiln, rice sheller and marble factories (Rs5,000 per year), surgical cotton production, ice-cream factory, fireworks sellers and gas cylinder agency (Rs2,000), permit for acid, kerosene and wheat husk selling (Rs1,000), wheat husk pressing factory (Rs3,000), cloth and yarn dyeing (Rs1,200), powerloom factory (Rs175 per loom) and issuance of licence for a new filling station (Rs25,000).
KILLING: A woman committed suicide after killing her husband in Pirmahal, 25km away from here, on Monday.
Parveen was the second wife of Majeed. Following an exchange of hot words over a domestic issue, she fired at her husband killing him instantly.
Later, she committed suicide by shooting herself with the same revolver.
DACOITY BID: People foiled a dacoity attempt in the house of the former District Bar Association president in the Housing Colony on Monday.
Three dacoits forced their entry into the house of Iqbal Butt and opened fire when he put up resistance. But the house owner remained unhurt.
Later, the neighbours overpowered one of the dacoits and handed him over to police.
He was identified as Shabbir Husain, a resident of Shaikh Lahori locality, Minchanabad.
BREACH: Hundreds of acres of crops were inundated on Monday due to a 20-foot breach in Jhang branch sub-canal near Bahmniwala, Gojra.
Canal water flooded the crops in Chak 363-JB.
The breach was, however, plugged by Irrigation employees and farmers.
DUSTSTORM: A duststorm followed by heavy rain uprooted hundreds of trees in various parts of the district on Sunday night.
