SIALKOT: The unabated preparing of the cooking oil with offal and animal waste by the vendors is creating health hazards for the public and causing environmental pollution in Sambrial city and it surroundings.

The locals have pointed out that the banks of the Upper Chenab Canal have already been ‘occupied’ by the vendors who are politically influential.

On the city’s outskirts, the vendors have established their big and small units where they are openly preparing unhygienic cooking oil.

These vendors openly burn offal and animal waste and crush the bones illegally for making unhygienic cooking oil which is sold in Sialkot, Daska, Sambrial and Pasrur areas, This nasty practice is also spreading environmental pollution in the area.

In August, the officials of Punjab Food Authority (PFA) had sealed a factory in suburbs of Sambrial city for preparing unhygienic cooking oil. But after a month-long closure, the factory was reopened.

The locals have urged Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar, Gujranwala Commissioner Asadullah Faiz and Sialkot Deputy Commissioner Tahir Wattoo to look into the matter.

SCCI: Newly elected body the Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) was sworn in during a special ceremony held at chamber’s auditorium on Saturday.

Addressing the participants of the annual general meeting of the SCCI, its President Khawaja Masud Akhtar, Senior Vice President Waqas Akram Awan and Vice President Aamir Hameed Bhatti vowed to utilise their energies to resolve the exporters’ problems and pledged to leave no stone unturned in boosting the exports from Sialkot. They also announced to continue the SCCI’s traditions of social welfare and promotion of the exports on a self-help basis.

GEPCO: The surveillance teams of the Gujranwala Electric Power Company (Gepco) caught red-handed eight consumers while stealing electricity from the main lines in and around the Sialkot city.

Police registered cases against Hassan Muhammad, Malik Saleem, Muhammad Shafi, Boota, Abdul Ghani, Nasir, Bashir and Allah Rakha and sent them behind bars.

MINISTER: Punjab Minister for Special Education Chaudhry Ikhlaq has urged the doctors and paramedics to provide better medical health facilities to the public.

Addressing the participants of the oath-taking ceremony of the local paramedics held at Khawaja Muhammad Safdar Medical College, the minister said doctors and paramedics were performing the sacred duty of serving the ailing humanity. He said their problems would be resolved amicably.

Earlier, Mr Ikhlaq visited the Govt Allama Iqbal Memorial Teaching Hospital and checked the attendance of the doctors and paramedics besides record of the medicines being provided to the patients.

He pledged to make efforts for release of the required funds by the Punjab government for the upgrade of the hospital.

CANAL: The Main Marala-Ravi-Link (M.R. Link) Canal has been closed for the last two weeks due to water shortage in river Chenab.

According to the senior officials of the irrigation department, the water level had dropped to only 24,422 cusecs in the river at Head Marala near Sialkot after a week of the water flow due to recent rains. The flow of water was 4,804 cusecs in river Tavi and 1,590 cusecs in river Jammu.

All the seasonal nullahs, including Aik, Dek and Palkhu, were also flowing normally after a flash flood a week ago in Sialkot, Daska, Sambrial and Pasrur tehsils.

Published in Dawn, September 30th, 2018