Duststorm breaks hot spell

ATTOCK, May 25: Heavy dust storm that lashed the city and adjoining areas on Wednesday evening provided temporary relief to the people from the scorching heat.

The light wind started in the evening which turned into a dust storm after a while. Many hoardings and trees were uprooted and some of the areas faced power failures. The motorists had to face problems in traveling on the roads, however, no incident was reported till the filing of this report. The dust storm brought some relief from the sizzling heat which had been gripping the area for the last many days.

The heat wave had also affected the routine work of daily wagers, labourers and other business activities. However the most affected were schoolchildren who had to brave the weather during school hours and at homes due to power outages. — Correspondent

Cheuqes for leprosy patients

RAWALPINDI, May 25: Provincial Minister for Zakat and Usher Malik Nadeem Kamran on Wednesday said the Punjab government was using Zakat fund for helping the patients of leprosy get treatment.

He expressed these views at a function of distributing cheques among the patients at the Leprosy Hospital.

The minister said a transparent policy and procedure has been adopted by the Punjab government for providing assistance to the needy and deserving persons under the Zakat fund.

“We believe in welfare and uplift of poor people.” The minister said Rs600,000 have been distributed among the leprosy patients for treatment. —A Reporter

Abduction bid foiled

TAXILA, May 25: A teenaged girl foiled bid to abduct her in Wah Cantonment on Wednesday. Rabia Asmat reported to the police that she was coming out of a local hotel when Saim Ashraf along with Noman Khan and Qaisar Mehmood tried to abduct her by dragging her into the car. As she raised alarm, the people came there. At this, the alleged abductors threw her and sped away. While in another incident some unknown thieves took away motorcycle (AKB-3695) of Rustam Khan from Lala Rukh market in the same police station limits. Wah Cantonment police registered separate cases and started investigation. —Correspondent

Transformer stolen

TAXILA, May 25: A 100-KV transformer near Bhattar intersection area was stolen by unknown thieves taking advantage of loadshedding at night in the limits of Wah Cantonment police station. It has been learnt that power supply was disconnected to Bhattar intersection. The people were of the impression that it was part of routine load shedding.However, they came to know later that transformer installed in the area had been stolen. It is not first instance that the criminals took advantage of loadshedding and stole transformers as previously thieves took away transformers in Taxila, Wah Cantonment and Hassanabdal and other parts of the city. It is believed that the gang of transformer lifters might have links with officials of the concerned department. —Correspondent

Labourer electrocuted

ISLAMABAD, May 25: A labourer was electrocuted while polishing the chip floor at the first storey of a house located in Soan Garden, police said on Wednesday.

The victim was identified as Javed Iqbal, 29. The incident came to light when the house owner heard the sound of the polishing machine and went upstairs to ask the labourer to complete the remaining work on the next day as it was too late.

On reaching there, he spotted the labourer lying unconscious while the machine was still working. He was shifted to hospital where he was pronounced dead.— Staff Reporter

Singing competition

ISLAMABAD, May 25: The Children Art Workshop of Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) will hold a ‘singing competition’ for the children tomorrow (Friday, May 27).

The children from various educational and art institutions of the twin cities will participate in the competition which is being held in the PNCA auditorium. Meanwhile, the PNCA will also hold a concert entitled ‘Mehfil-e-Mausiqi’ tomorrow (Friday, May 27) in which popular singers Fareeha Pervez and Ali Abbas will perform. — APP

ITP given 200 umbrellas

ISLAMABAD, May 25: As many as 200 umbrellas containing water conservation messages have been distributed among the Islamabad Traffic Police (ITP) officials on Wednesday.

Senior Superintendent of Police (Traffic) Dr. Moeen Masood distributed the umbrellas among the ITP officials in a ceremony held at Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) office. The umbrellas were developed by MAWCD Project along with other different types of publicity/information material containing water conservation messages as part of their awareness campaign.

National Project Director of MAWCD Saeed Javed, National Project Manager Dr. Abdul Majeed, other PCRWR officials and the project personnel of MAWCD Project were also present on the occasion. — APP