Room gutted LAKKI MARWAT, April 9: A fire gutted a room of a house owned by a widow in Malikabad railway station area of Lakki city.

Faizullah, the brother of the widow, Islam Bibi, said that fire brigade of tehsil municipal administration was called immediately to extinguish the fire and avoid any further loss. —Correspondent

Chitral bypass project CHITRAL, April 9: The communication and works department is yet to finalise the design, survey and alignment coordinates of the Abdul Wali Khan Bypass despite the fact that work on the project had been started in November last.

In a letter addressed to the department, the contractor of the project has complained that he had started the work on the verbal order of the department officers without receiving proper work order. The letter said the executing agency was duty-bound to provide proper construction drawing to the contractor but the C&W department had failed to do so which is one of the factors in slow speed of work.

It further pointed out that the consultant hired by the department had designed the project using assumed data that did not match with the one on the site.

The department neither provided alternate routes and diversion to mitigate the inconvenience to the public nor it provided a place to dump the excavated material which cannot be thrown into the river. —Correspondent

Illegal connections removed PESHAWAR, April 9: Peshawar Electric Supply Company has booked eight persons for using illegal connections and heavily fined the defaulters during a drive launched to recover dues and remove illegal connections.

A Pesco statement on Saturday said during the week-long campaign in Peshawar and Swat circles a total of Rs5.2 million had been recovered and cases registered against eight persons for using electricity through illegal means.

In Peshawar circle 110 direct kundas (connections) had been removed and criminal cases against the accused registered at respective police stations. Rs2.8 million were recovered from the defaulters on the spot, while Rs60,000 fine was imposed for illegal use of electricity.Similarly, in Swat circle including Dargai, Timargara, Buner and Swat, Rs2.4 million were recovered from the defaulters. —Bureau Report

Teachers set up protest camp PESHAWAR, April 9: The ad-hoc teachers of the Institute of Business and Management Sciences (IBMS), Agricultural University, on Saturday set up a protest camp near Peshawar Press Club against the delay in disbursement of their salaries for past many months.

The protesters had displayed banners and placards inscribed with their demands, who also shouted for release of their salaries and promotions.

The IBMS president Shah Hassan while talking to media persons said they had set up the camp against what he described the step-motherly attitude of administration of the Agriculture University with the teachers. “The teachers are frequently harassed and pressurised through different tactics to withdraw the writ petition that we have submitted in the Peshawar High Court against the administration,” he said.

He said salaries of 104 teachers had been stopped despite the order issued by the Peshawar High Court in the teachers’ favour. —Bureau Report

Office-bearers elected PESHAWAR, April 9: Teachers’ representatives from public sector universities from all over the country elected president and other office-bearers during an election held in Islamabad on Saturday.

A press release issued here on Saturday said Prof Dr Fida Mohammad, currently president of the Federation of All Pakistan Universities Academic Staff Association (FAPUSA), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chapter, was elected unopposed as the association’s president. Dr Fida is presently working in Agricultural University Peshawar.

A teacher of University of Balochistan, Kaleem Bareech, was elected its vice-president whereas an associate professor of University of Punjab Prof Dr Zafar Noone was elected as general secretary of FAPUASA. Dr Ali Johar, who is currently president of Peshawar University Teachers’ Association, was elected as its president, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chapter. Dr Mohammad Tayyab was elected as general secretary, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. —Bureau Report

105 outlaws arrested PESHAWAR, April 9: The city police claimed on Saturday to have arrested 105 outlaws including three proclaimed offenders, and recovered weapons and a stolen vehicle from their possession.

The police on special directives of CCPO Laiqat Ali Khan conducted raids in various areas of the city and arrested 105 criminals including three POs wanted in murder, attempt to murder and robbery cases. Police also recovered three Kalashnikovs, 10 pistols, cartridges of different bore, 40kg hashish, 11 bottles of liquor and a stolen vehicle from their possession.—APP