KARAK: Six gypsum factories running on illegal gas connections have been sealed during a crackdown.

An official of Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited said on Sunday that the operation was launched on the night between Saturday and Sunday led by assistant commissioner, Karak, Basheer Ahmad, along with DSP headquarters Zahir Shah, police, Levies personnel and SNGPL officials.

The team raided the gypsum factories situated on Indus Highway and near Niazi Well and caught red-handed the owners using illegal gas form the main line to run the units.

The illegal gas connections were disconnected, generators and other equipment taken into custody, the factories sealed and FIRs lodged against the owners, said the official.

The assistant commissioner claimed that the illegal connections acquired by the gypsum factories had created problem of low gas pressure for the domestic consumers and were inflicting losses on the exchequer.

He said surprise raids on illegal gas connections would continue at odd timings. He warned the owners of factories to get legal gas connections otherwise they would not be spared.

LACK OF HEALTH FACILITY: The Sirajkhel union council members have regretted that there is no health centre in the entire UC and the people, particularly women, are facing hardships in getting medical treatment.

The concerned was raised at a meeting chaired by district councillor Shah Zaman on Sunday.

The participants said the union council was situated between the hilly ranges and the people were facing a lot of problems in getting basic facilities of life, but the most important and urgent problem was the lack of health facility.

The councillors said they had brought the issued into the notice of former adviser to the chief minister, Malik Qasim Khan Kahttak, and also to the incumbent lawmaker Malik Zafar Azam to establish a health centre along with a maternity home for the women but they failed to do so.

Published in Dawn, December 10th, 2018