January 27, 2006	Friday	Zilhaj 26, 1426

KARACHI, Jan 26: The City Nazim, Syed Mustafa Kamal, on Thursday said that trauma centres would be set up in all 18 towns of Karachi so citizens can be provided with early medical assistance in any emergency or accident.

Talking to newsmen during his visit to the Karachi Institute of Heart Diseases (KIHD), Federal B Area, he said emergency treatment for chest pain would also be provided at these trauma centres.

He said ambulance centres and fire brigades will be set up under all bridges and flyovers in the city, so that ambulances could be timely provided in accidents or emergencies.

About the KIHD, he said the building was constructed and machinery purchased without a better planning, while doctors and paramedics were also not provided to the hospital. “Hence it failed to provide any benefit to citizens,” he said.

The city nazim said he would try to get the project’s SNE approved, which had already been sent to the provincial government. He said he would take up the matter with the chief minister, adding that citizens would hear good news in this regard in a few days. He hoped that the hospital would be made fully functional in a few weeks.

The nazim also said that he had not scrapped any project of the former City Nazim, Niamatullah Khan, and said all projects in the interest of people were continued.

He said development works in Karachi that used to take years were now being carried out in weeks.

Kamal said a committee of private doctors had been set up, which was fully empowered and was looking into matters related to health. The committee had done work on Abbasi Shaheed Hospital and was now working on other hospitals of the city government.

He said the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital had now improved a lot and its emergency ward and intensive care unit would be opened by the end of next month.

He said that e-government was being introduced in all government departments to solve problems faced by the masses.

He said the technology would help in efficient monitoring and it would be possible to know how many employees were present in a particular hospital on any particular day.

DCO Karachi, EDOs, Gulberg Town Nazim and members of the health committee were also present.

Meanwhile the City Nazim, Syed Mustafa Kamal, on Thursday said that Rs230 million had been earmarked for the carpeting of city roads, adding work in this regard would start from Friday and completed in all towns before Muharramul Haram.

He asked UC nazims, elected representatives and representatives of volunteer organisations working in connection with Muharram to inform town nazims in written about roads that needed repairs or carpeting so that work could be started on them soon.

He was addressing a meeting at Civic Centre to review Muharram arrangements and the law and order situation. The DCO Karachi, Fazalur Rehman, DIGP Operations, DIGP Traffic, town nazims, volunteer organisations, ulema and other officials attended the meeting.

Kamal asked town nazims to hold a joint meeting with concerned TPOs, TMOs and DOs of the KWSB and Works and Services Department to devise a joint strategy regarding Muharram arrangements.

He told the meeting that an amount had been allocated for road carpeting and work on it would start from Friday, saying that a list of dilapidated city roads had been received.

Work will be completed before Muharram on emergency basis, he added.

He stressed the town nazims to improve sanitary conditions on the routes of the Muharram procession and around mosques and imambargahs.

He directed the DIGP Traffic to make similar arrangements in Muharram like that made in Eidul Azha for getting heavy vehicles driven outside the city through Northern Bypass.

Taking notice of the out-of-order streetlights in various localities of the metropolis, the city nazim ordered town administrations and the Works and Services Department to ensure repairs of faulty streetlights especially those on roads leading to imambargahs.

He directed officials of the Works and Services and the KWSB to immediately complete works identified or recommended by town nazims.

Kamal told the meeting that work was being carried out in Jamshed Town from Jamshed Road No 3 to Jehangir Road and the service road leading to Shah-i-Najaf Imambargah. Work pertaining to water supply and sewerage there would be completed before Muharram, he said.—PPI