KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has taken serious notice of the death of a child reportedly after consuming poisonous chips and juice and directed the Hyderabad commissioner to inquire into the matter and submit a report to him.

He said that the shopkeepers or vendors could not be allowed to play with the lives of the people by selling substandard and poisonous food items in the market.

He also directed the Sindh Food Authority to start inspection of restaurants and other eateries, as such negligence by their management could not be tolerated.

The chief minister said that he had not forgotten the incident of Karachi in which two children had died after consuming poisonous food and now another incident had taken place in which the condition of two children — four-year-old Humayyun and his twin sister Aliza — deteriorated soon after eating potato chips and drinking juice purchased in the Cantt Market, Hyderabad.

Sindh Food Authority told to launch inspection of restaurants and eateries

They were shifted immediately to a hospital, where Humayyun died and his sister was in a critical condition.

“I want you to conduct a thorough inquiry into the matter and get the lab test of food items and report me,” the chief minister told Hyderabad Commissioner Abbas Baloch.

He also urged him to take necessary measures to save the life of Aliza.

Commissioner Baloch in his report to the chief minister stated that a child died of food poisoning on Dec 30 in Hyderabad.

On receipt of information, a team of officers was sent to the house of Abdul Sattar, the father of the victim child, who disclosed that his wife and kids bought chips and juice from a shop in the Cantt Market, Hyderabad.

After consuming the stuff the condition of the children started deterioration and they were shifted to the Aga Khan Hospital Hyderabad where his son died while his daughter was admitted in critical condition. Now her condition was said to be stable.

The commissioner further stated in his report that the parents of the child would provide him further details later.

In the meantime, the commissioner contacted the hospital authorities for medical reports of the deceased child which he would get by Tuesday. The shops in questions have been sealed on the orders of the commissioner by the food inspector of the Cantonment Authority and samples have been taken from the material stocked there.

Sukkur’s uplift projects reviewed

Chief Secretary Syed Mumtaz Ali Shah asked the secretaries of the planning and development and implementation and coordination departments to proactively coordinate with the respective division and district administration for ensuring completion of all development projects by June 30, 2019.

The chief secretary, who was presiding over a review meeting of the district-based development projects of Sukkur division on Monday, also advised the deputy commissioners to examine the progress of development schemes and submit a report to his office within a week.

He maintained that no negligence would be tolerated on part of the officials in accomplishment of the projects.

In the meeting, total 140 development projects of the division were reviewed pertaining to the departments of agricultural, education, health, home, local government, fisheries and wildlife, forest, social welfare, transport, women development, minorities ,mines and mineral development, works and services.

Mr Shah also directed respective administrative secretaries to obtained funds from the finance department to avoid any delay for want of release of funds and seek necessary guidance from the planning and development and works and services departments if needed.

Those present at the meeting included secretaries of finance, planning and development, sports, transport, school education, agriculture, irrigation and commissioner and deputy commissioner of Sukkur.

Published in Dawn, January 1st, 2019