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KARACHI, June 1: The strike called by the MMA badly affected routine activities at hospitals and courts in the city on Wednesday. The outpatient departments at almost all public sector hospitals in the city were rendered non-functional as staff and patients could not reach there mainly due to the absence of public transport means.
Hospital sources said that another reason appeared to be ‘fear’ in view of the violent incidents in the city over the past few days.
At private hospitals and clinics also, the situation was more or less the same. The number of emergency cases reported at nearly all hospitals appeared negligible. A senior doctor at the Sindh Government Hospital Korangi said that only 150 patients turned up at the OPD section on Wednesday as against the routine attendance of 2,000.
Officials at some government hospitals said that the scheduled surgeries and operations had been performed despite thin attendance of staff.
A senior doctor at the National Institute of Child Health said that OPD attendance was thin there but emergency cases started arriving in the evening.
An official of the Lyari General Hospital said that some scheduled operations had to be deferred. At the Spencer’s Eye Hospital, a doctor said that OPDs wore a deserted look during the day.
COURTS: Proceedings of the City Courts remained suspended on Wednesday as the paralegals and court staff could not turn up due to the strike.
A little number of the litigants, however, reached the courts in the morning but they had to leave as their lawyers did not attend the courts.
Stamps vendors did not open their stalls and the two canteens on the courts’ premises also remained closed.
The judges and judicial magistrates having their official vehicles did come to the courts but they could not proceed with the cases due to the absence of lawyers and staff.
Police produced several suspects in different courts and got their remands. Some judges also announced judgments.
