BAHAWALPUR: A fire erupting allegedly because of an uprooted electricity pole supporting high-tension live wires engulfed a vast forest area of the Lal Sohanra National Park on Thursday night.

As per officials, on being informed of the blaze erupting in the park on Thursday night, seven fire engines and two ambulances of the Rescue 1122 emergency rescue were dispatched to the affected area. He said the firefighters after some seven-hour long hectic efforts extinguished the blaze.

District Emergency Officer Baqir Hussain told Dawn after the Rescue 1122 firefighter managed to extinguished the fire late in the night, cooling process continued on Friday morning. No loss of life was reported in the incident, he added.

Bahawalpur Division Forest Conservator Gauhar Mushtaq said the fire spreading on about 25 acres of forest area mostly damaging the bushes and grass, claiming that grown-up trees had not been damaged badly by the blaze.

Lal Sohanra District Forest Officer Lal Sohanra Fazlur Rehman said as per initial investigations the fire erupted when an electricity pole supporting high-tension wires fell in the forest.

He said the loss caused by the fire would be assessed and a report was being compiled that would be made public.

He claimed the fire caused no extensive damage to the forest.

SURGERY: A team of doctors of the Bahawal Victoria Hospital’s orthopedic ward has successfully reattached the right arm of an 11-year-old girl that was separated from her body in an accident.

According to BVH doctors, about three weeks ago, the right arm of Sonia, a resident of Kahrore Pucca in Lodhran district got separated from her body in an accident.

She was rushed to the BVH, where a team of doctors led by Prof Dr Shujaat Hussain conducted an hours-long surgical procedure and reattached the limb to her body.

Now, after three-week long treatment, the doctors claimed that the girls arm was fully functional again.

SCAM: A number of contractors of the local buildings department, in alleged connivance with some officials pooled tenders worth millions of rupees causing loss of millions of rupees to the government.

As per a complainant filed with the buildings department, the contractors with alleged connivance of officials, by-passed the competitive bidding process and themselves decided the bidding rates causing million of rupees loss to the government.

Building Superintending Engineer (SE) Anwar Adil confirmed some irregularities had reported in the tendering process of works amounting to Rs380 million.

He said the matter was being thoroughly probed into and if found guilty the contractors involved in the scam would be taken to task.

He, however, claimed that in most of the tenders, it was ensured that bidding should be fair.

Published in Dawn, May 14th, 2022