SAHIWAL: The Punjab government has approved two mega road projects of Rs83bn for Sahiwal division under the Annual Development Plan (ADP).

An amount of Rs60m would be spent on dualisation of the 198km road from Chichawatni to Layyah and Rs23bn on 57km additional carriageway from Sahiwal to Samundri Interchange.

Dawn learnt from sources that PC-I the abovementioned schemes have been sought till April 5, 2024.

The PML-N parliamentarians under the then chief minister Shehbaz Sharif 2013-2018 had demanded the link road from Sahiwal to Lahore- Multan Motorway. Shehbaz approved a double carriageway road from Sahiwal City till motorway. The project was discussed even in Imran Khan tenure but the funds allocation was a problem. Now as the PML-N got back into power, the delayed projects like these two roads have been again approved.

Malik Nadeem Kamran, the former minister for planning and development, told Dawn their party efforts proved fruitful and the projects were approved.

rape bid: Farid Town police arrested two employees of the Sahiwal Teaching Hospital for attempting to rape a female attendant whose elderly father was admitted to the cardiology ward of the hospital.

Reports said Samina, a resident of Chak 505/EB, district Vehari, said she admitted her father, Muhammad Khaliq, a TB patient, to the hospital for treatment on March 22. Her two cousins were also helping her in attending to her father.

She said she asked the hospital staff about the way to get her father’s treatment under a health card. Two hospital sweepers, Nouman and Nasir, offered to help her in getting a health card. Samina agreed to get their help and went along with them.

Both the suspects took her to a deserted room of the hospital and tried to rape her. Samina raised a hue and cry, which alarmed other patients’ attendants lying in hospital corridors who rushed to rescue her. Somebody called 15 and police arrived on time.

Police arrested Nouman and Nasir who confessed to committing the crime. Police registered a case under PPC 376 and 511 on the complaint of Samina Bibi.

The SHO Farid Town police informed Dawn both the suspects were arrested and put in the lock-up.

MURDER-CUM-SUICIDE: A woman allegedly stabbed her husband to death and committed suicide by hanging herself from the ceiling fan of her house at Chak 70/5-L.

Arshad and Ishrat had got married four years back but they were having strained relations as the family reported domestic violence incidents.

The eyewitnesses said the couple reconciled through mediation a couple of times before too. On Monday, they exchanged harsh words and Ishrat stabbed her husband and committed suicide. Police found multiple injuries on the husband’s body.

The couple had a two-year-old son and an eight months old daughter.

Yousafwala Police Station SHO alleged that the woman was mentally ill. Police took both the bodies to the Sahiwal Teaching Hospital for postmortem.

Published in Dawn, March 26th, 2024