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FAISALABAD, July 1: Six people sustained injuries on Thursday in a clash between a mob of villagers and the police on the Narwala Road near Marzipura.
The villagers belonging to the Millat Road, Narwala Road and Aminpur Bangla Road were carrying banners and placards inscribed with slogans against the toll-tax collection by the district government.
They marched along different roads and demanded immediate withdrawal of the tax. Meanwhile, a police contingent rushed to the spot and forced them to disperse. On refusal, the policemen baton-charged them as a result six people sustained head injuries. The protesters also pelted stones on the police.
Earlier, the villagers claimed the district council had recently withdrawn the tax from 10 roads. They alleged that the contractor had deputed armed men for tax collection and clashes between the transporters and the collectors had become a routine matter.
They also alleged that the tax rates had been doubled by the contractor. The rally was addressed by Faisalabad Sizing Association president Shahbaz Kissana and others .When contacted, a spokesman for the district government said the district council had approved tax withdrawal from 10 roads in its last session. However, he said, it had not been abolished in Samundri tehsil, Tandlianwala, Jaranwala, Millat Road, Narwala Road, Panisara Road, Dijkot Road and Samundri-Garah-Kanjwani Road.
He said the motion for tax withdrawal from the district would be taken up in the special session of the district council expected to be convened in the second week of this month.
MoU: The University of Agriculture has agreed to help the Government College University, Faisalabad, to start new science disciplines. An MoU was signed at a ceremony held at the University of Agriculture here on Thursday.
Vice-chancellor Dr Bashir Ahmad said the Agriculture University would cooperate with the GC University to start new disciplines and scientific and research programmes.
He stressed the need to explore new avenues of cooperation between various universities and research organizations to make Faisalabad a model scientific and educational city.
GC University vice-chancellor Dr Asif Iqbal appreciated the contribution of Agriculture University for the promotion of science subjects for the last 100 years. He said establishment of GC University would help strengthen these efforts.
The GC University was preparing to launch new disciplines to cater to the present day needs. These subjects include MA fine arts, MSc home economics, geography, psychology, telecom, engineering, industrial chemistry, environment sciences, pharmacy and information technology.
