BAHAWALPUR, April 10: An amount of Rs5.3 million was allegedly taken away from Saudi Pak Commercial Bank, Circular Road. Police said the dacoity came to light on Sunday night when branch manager Ahmed Bilal paid an unscheduled visit and found guard Muhammad Sharif missing and door of the bank open. As he went inside the cash room, he found the safe open and currency notes missing while more than Rs283,000 were scattered on the floor.
A case was registered against Sharif and a police team sent to his native town Toba Tek Singh.
PROTEST CAMP: The PPP (Parliamentarians) on Saturday organized a protest camp against the district government for what they called to project the basic problems pertaining to civic amenities being denied to the citizens of Bahawalpur.
The protest camp at Chowk Fawara was largely attended by male and female workers and office-bearers, including city president Shahid Mirza, district secretary-general Irshad Siroya, district information secretary Salim Bhatti, women wing district president Begum Sajida Malik and others. A large number of dwellers of katchi abadis also joined the camp.
The participants raised slogans frequently in support of their demands to solve problems like provision of sewerage, gas, electricity, potable water and construction of roads in katchi abadis.
The protest camp was bedecked with big banners and participants held the placards with slogans inscribed on them.
Speakers highlighted that their children were forced to live in an environment of ponds due to which they fell prey to diseases. In this respect, they particularly mentioned the names of Quaid-i-Azam Colony, Tibba Badar Shair and Islami Colony.
They alleged that dwellers of these katchi abadis were suffering at the hands of TMA officials. PPP leaders and other speakers condemned that Nazims were thriving on people’s exchequer but the poor dwellers were being denied their basic needs.