BAHAWALPUR: Over 10,000 government employees will be engaged in the national census in three districts of the Bahawalpur division.

This was stated by Divisional Commissioner Saqib Zafar at a meeting held here on Monday to review arrangements for the census to be conducted from March.

Chief census commissioner Muhammad Asif Bajwa, district coordination officers (DCOs) Imran Sikandar Baloch, Zafar Mahmood and Haider Iqbal of Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan and Bahawalnagar, respectively, attended the meeting.

Asif Bajwa said the census might be completed by the middle of April.

He said the census would be conducted by trained government employees while master trainers would be selected from among them and their training would begin in Islamabad on Jan 17.

He said trainees would be paid compensation while government employees engaged in the census would be paid on a daily basis. He said the census would be carried out in the shape of blocks while 84,000 such blocks were estimated across the country.

Mr Bajwa said the census teams would go door-to-door for counting purpose.

He said census committees would be formed at divisional, district and tehsil levels to monitor the census work in their respective areas.

SUICIDE ATTEMPT: The Hasilpur police claim that a married woman allegedly attempted to commit suicide by setting herself on fire on Monday.

Police said Anum, a mother of two children, took the extreme step because of some domestic issues.

Her husband Asim Rashid, a bailiff, said he reprimanded his wife after she allegedly quarreled with his parents.

He claimed after the quarrel, his wife went to her room, poured petrol and set herself on fire. After hearing her screams, she was rescued and shifted to the DHQ Hospital where she was in a serious condition.

Doctors said about 70 per cent of her body was burnt. Police have registered a case against her.

REPAIRED: The collapsed sewerage system at the local central disposal station in Bindra Basti has been repaired.

This was claimed by TMA’s acting administrator Tanvir Ahmad Jhandhir here on Monday.

Published in Dawn, January 5th, 2016