August 10, 2006	Thursday	Rajab 14, 1427

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window).

OKARA, Aug 9: Punjab Governor Khalid Maqbool has ordered a legal action against developers of 57 private residential colonies who disappeared with the payment of electricity connections after disposing of plots.

The people also burst out against the Wapda with a barrage of complaints in an open kutchery held by Punjab Governor Khalid Maqbool here on Wednesday.

The people also called upon the governor to order shifting of regional offices of the HBFC, the Smeda and the SNGPL from Sahiwal to Okara as they had to travel to Sahiwal for lodging their complaints.

Later, addressing a public gathering in the district council’s lawns, the governor assured the people that Lesco office would provide power supply to 600 tubewells during next four months and then add up 100 tubewells every month in the Okara district.

The governor directed Lesco chief executive Muhammad Akram Arain to ensure provision of power supply to villages having minimum 10 houses.

He said the Nadra had issued computerised national identity cards to some 63 per cent population and was working to issue cards to the remaining population. He said that he had asked Nadra officials to simplify the birth registration procedures.

Mr Maqbool said the Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) zonal office in Okara had disbursed some Rs1.3 billion loans during 2003-4 and had targets to issue about Rs3 billion loans to farmers in different heads, including micro credit. The federal government had enhanced the minimum loan limit from Rs25,000 to Rs100,000 and reduced mark-up from 18 per cent to 12 per cent.

The governor said some 70 per cent population had the facility of Sui gas in Okara while the remainder would be offered the facility by the end of this year.

The Okara by-pass, he said, had been completed with a total cost of Rs680 million.

He said the Lower Bari Doab Canal (LBDC) would be re-modeled with an expenditure of Rs15 billion that would help provide some extra 1,200 to 1,300 cusecs of water in the area.

A sub-campus of Education University and a Cadet College were also being established in the Okara district.

The governor also visited the site of the Education University’s sub-campus in Renala Khurd. Vice-chancellor Dr Mustafa Habibullah briefed the governor about the project.

The VC said the university had plans to construct two academic blocks, two hostels and a student service centre in the first phase.

The governor also approved a proposal floated by DCO Muhammad Aslam Kamboh that the district government would provide land near the university’s sub-campus site for the construction of a quality school. The governor said that he would contact different agencies for the provision of seed money for the project soon.

Most of the people submitted their complaints with regard to the police. People complained that the police neither registered cases nor arrested criminals. The governor asked DPO Dr Usman to ensure resolution of complaints. He also issued directions to the DPO on certain cases.

A constable also complained that his six-year-old son was abducted on Aug 6 and an FIR was lodged on Aug 7, but the abductors were not arrested. He said that the life of his son was in danger.

The governor directed the DPO to ensure the recovery of the abducted child and arrest of kidnappers.

District Nazim Syed Asad Ali Gillani, Punjab Housing Minister Syed Raza Ali Gillani, tehsil nazims Rao Jamil Akhtar, Malik Akram Bhatty and Mian Khurram Jehangir Wattoo, DCO Chaudhry Aslam Kamboh, DPO Dr Osman Anwar and all district heads of federal and provincial departments were also present on the occasion.