SUKKUR, May 31: Four employees of the irrigation department were kidnapped by armed bandits near RD-44, Shahi Wah, on Saturday.

Jawed Ahmad Taibani, superintending engineer, Gudu Barrage Circle, Noor Mohammad Brohi, Darogha, Mohammad Hasil, peon, and Nazeer Ahmad, driver, were on the way to RD-44, Desert canal, when the bandits intercepted their vehicle (GS-5032) near Thull and at gunpoint kidnapped the four employees along with their vehicle.

When contacted by this correspondent, Wahdat Ali Shahani, administrative officer of the Gudu Barrage, confirmed that four employees of the department had been kidnapped.

Meanwhile, a man was shot dead and his wife and daughter were kidnapped by armed persons in the Haji Mohammad Sadiq Marhato village, Bahoo Khoso police station jurisdiction, Jacobabad, on Saturday.

The armed persons barged into the house of Inayatullah Bhangar and opened indiscriminate fire, killed him on spot. The bandits later took away Mr Bhangar’s wife and his two-year-old daughter.

The reason behind the incident could not be ascertained.

PM: Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali will inaugurate the gas supply to Garhi Khairo, about 40kms from the centre of Jacobabad district, on June 1.

The project is worth Rs42 million consisting of a 17km-long supply line and a 13km-long distribution network.

The people here are compelled to use firewood and kerosene. Fossil fuels are a heavy burden on the environment and a major health concern for the residents.