LAHORE: Dozens of parents along with their children staged a protest demonstration in front of the LDA school in Allama Iqbal Town against the Lahore Development Authority’s education wing for raising monthly fee in its schools.

The protesters, carrying placards and banners, chanted slogans and criticised the authorities for enhancing the fee exorbitantly, disturbing their budget. They demanded the LDA’s top officials to withdraw the decision.

An LDA official termed the protest a move launched by those who wanted to keep the authorities under immense pressure through various tactics.

“Their protest is absolutely unjustified as we have raised the fee in all six schools situated in Iqbal Town and Johar Town and Sabzazar. The fee raise (about Rs400 to Rs500 in the previous fee structure of Rs1,350 and Rs1,450 for junior and senior sections, respectively) has been made with the approval of the authority after finding a budget deficit of Rs57m per year,” the official, who requested anonymity, told Dawn.

He said the fee had been enhanced after a period of about four years.

NOTICES: A City district administration’s team, headed by the district officer (food) , issued show-cause notices to 42 chicken sale centres/points in various parts of the city for not adopting the cleanliness and hygienic parameters while making chicken meat.

According to a spokesman, the chicken sale points’ owners had been asked to respond to the notice within next 10 days.

Meanwhile, a CDGL’s education committee, in a meeting, had been entrusted with the task to conduct a survey of all schools in the NA-120 constituency to check education standard and missing facilities and submit its report to the Lahore district coordination officer (DCO) within 25 days.

On the other hand, various price control magistrates on Saturday had 88 shopkeepers arrested besides imposing fine of Rs45,000 on others for overcharging, hoarding and selling substandard commodities.

Published in Dawn, January 17th, 2016