LAHORE: The Lahore High Court was asked on Friday to order strict action against young doctors observing strike at public sector hospitals in Punjab.

Judicial Activism Panel Chairman Advocate Azhar Siddique filed a wit petition pleading that strict action should be taken against the doctors for observing protests and denying health services to even critical patients at the hospitals.

He submitted that a handful of young doctors had been on strike for many weeks causing suspension of health facilities at the hospitals. He further said that not only the patients, but citizens on roads had been facing problems due to the doctors’ protests.

The lawyer contended that law did not allow doctors to refuse medical facility to any patient as the medical profession fell within the category of compulsory service.

He asked the court to order the provincial government to take strict action against the doctors and also order them to end their strike.

The doctors have been on strike for several weeks against the enforcement of Medical Teaching Institutions ordinance in hospitals.

STAY: The Lahore High Court (LHC) has restrained the provincial Communication and Works (C&W) Department from finalising the tender for contract of dualization of a road from Khurrianwala to Sahianwala interchange in district Faisalabad.

The court passed the stay on a petition filed by the Punjab Highway Contractors Association that challenged the tender issued on Oct 7 for being illegal and in violation of the regulations of the highways department itself.

Representing the association, Advocate Imran Raza Chadhar told the court that the respondent authorities had put illegal conditions in the tender for the first time in the history of the highways department.

He said one of the conditions was planting within 75km distance from the scheme to ensure/control the temperature of bituminous material during laying/carpeting for quality assurance. He further said the C&W department declared that only those contractors/firms were eligible to participate in the bid who had completed at least roadwork of similar nature amounting to Rs200m or above.

Another condition, he said, stated that tender documents would only be issued to the contractors having their own bituminous asphalt plant or having registered lease agreement.

The counsel requested the court to set aside the impugned conditions for being unlawful and in violation of procurement rules.

Published in Dawn, November 2nd, 2019