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TOBA TEK SINGH, April 29: A dispute regarding the reconstruction of small patch of a link road that separates the newly-constructed block for degree classes and science laboratories and the Government College for Women’s main campus has prevented the college authorities from utilising the new campus for over six months.
The college is situated on the road that links Iqbal Nagar and Rehmanpur localities. However, a new block was constructed on a chunk of college’s own land adjacent to its main campus across the road around six months ago with Rs50 million.
The college administration wants redesigning of the separating road and reconstruction of its around 500-metre patch outside the circumference of both the campuses but locals want to use the road like they were using perpetually.
According to sources, Union Council 54 Nazim Tahir Sattar and some officials were opposing the proposed redesigning and were insisting that the road should not be closed down and locals should be allowed to continue enjoying the right of way and the easement accrued over the years.
In this connection, some locals also approached a civil court and procured a stay order regarding the proposed redesigning. However, the court has now vacated that stay order.
Public circles have urged the district nazim and district coordination officer (DCO) to resolve the issue at the earliest so that newly-built campus could be brought into use and classes could commence there, otherwise equipment worth over Rs4 million supplied by the government for the new laboratory would spoil, frustrating the whole purpose of the new construction which had also consumed substantial sums of money from public exchequer.
CHARGE: The Punjab sports secretary on Tuesday directed the district sports officer (DSO) to relinquish the charge of his post and report to the provincial sports office immediately.
DCO Chaudhry Muhammad Ashraf had conducted a surprise visit of the sports office and found the DSO absent from duty. He had written to the provincial secretary to take action against the skiving officer.
Meanwhile, tehsil sports officer, Tahir Iftikhar, assumed the charge as acting-DSO on Tuesday.
FIRE: Wheat husk (toori) worth around Rs500,000 rupees reduced to ashes when a godown caught fire in Pirmahal on Tuesday.
Fire brigade staffers were called in from Kamalia and Toba Tek Singh and they extinguished the fire in two hours. A source said that over 6,000 maunds of husk had been stored in the godown. Cause of fire could not be ascertained as yet.
ANTI-POLIO DRIVE: District Nazim Chaudhry Abdul Sattar has directed the health department to make the three-day anti-polio drive starting from May 6 a success.
He was addressing a meeting that reviewed the arrangements to launch the drive in this district. The nazim said that the government was concerned after reports regarding confirmation of few cases of polio in Sindh province emerged and it was being feared that such cases could be detected in Punjab province too.
He urged union council nazims, secretaries, education department officials and citizens to fully cooperate the anti-polio vaccination teams. He said that Vitamin A capsules would also be provided to the children.
Health officials informed the district nazim that 818 teams had been formed to administer polio vaccine to around 360,016 children across the district beside 128 teams to vaccinate the children at railway stations and bus stands.
TRANSFER: Employees of the forestry department ended their pen-down strike when district forestry officer (DFO) Mumtaz Khan was transferred on their demand from here to Mianwali on Tuesday.
The employees were observing a pen-down strike for the past 11 days while demanding immediate transfer of the incumbent DFO, accusing him of corruption and misconduct. The employees’ union leaders also held a meeting with District Officer (Coordination) Ashfaqur Rehman, who had assured them that their demand would be accepted soon.
DISTRICT COUNCIL: The district council on Tuesday urged the government not to abolish the local government system entirely and instead restore all frozen funds of the local councils after unsealing the records pertaining to development schemes.
The meeting presided over by acting-convenor Chaudhry Ramzan Cheechi also passed another resolution expressing concern over unscheduled electricity loadshedding being carried out in the district.
The resolution said that it was pathetic that big cities were burdened with a few hours of loadshedding while small districts like Toba Tek Singh were receiving power supply just for a few hours.
The resolution urged the government to end prolonged loadshedding, which was ruining small businesses as well as academic activities. A treasury member, Chaudhry Rashid Gujjar, condemned the absence of government officers from the meeting and warned that if this practice continued, the members would be forced to boycott the future meetings.
ACCIDENT: A man was killed and two were injured when a truck hit a tractor-trolley on Rajana-Samundri Road on Tuesday.
Labourers Nazir, Arshad and Shabbir were going from Renala Khurd in Okara district to their factory in Faisalabad on a tractor-trolley driven by Munawar Ali Gujjar. When they reached near Chak 360-GB canal bridge, the speeding truck hit them from rear as a result of which Nazir died on the spot while two others were injured who were hospitalised.
