BAHAWALPUR: The Lodhran Safe City project was inaugurated by the Multan RPO Usman Akram Gondal in a ceremony on Thursday.

A press release said that under the project 273 cameras had been installed at 38 main locations and crossings of the city and would be used to issue challans to traffic rules violators.

During the ceremony, the participants were informed that the Pink Button and Wi-Fi facilities would also be provided at several locations for the convenience of people, particularly women. During the briefing, the RPO was told that with face recognition through safe city cameras, criminals could now be identified.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Gondal said that with the Lodhran safe city project now operational, police would be able to track criminals effectively, bring down the crime graph, collect evidence from the crime scene and it would also reduce police response time in any emergency situation. He added that the safe city would be linked with Pukar 15 services so that emergency help could be immediately provided to callers.

MINOR RECOVERED: The Lodhran Jallah Arian Police claimed to have recovered an abducted minor boy belonging to the Yazman Mandi area of Bahawalpur district after two months and arrested his alleged abductor, who they claimed also raped the child.

According to police, minor S was allegedly abducted on March 15 and the victim’s father informed the police on April 30. Police claimed that by using the latest technology and geo-fencing, they managed to trace the suspect’s location and recovered the boy from Yazman Mandi and arrested the suspect. Police claimed the child told the police that the suspect had also raped him.

The boy has been referred to the hospital for medical examination while a case has been registered against the suspect.

SAHULAT BAZAAR: The Bahawalpur district administration has established a new model Sahulat bazaar at the One-unit Chowk for the convenience of thousands of residents of over a dozen housing societies of the area.

According to Deputy Commissioner Syed Hassan Raza, as many as thirty-five modern shops had been set up at the bazaar from where consumers could purchase essentials along with fruits and vegetables on subsidised rates.

The newly-set up bazaar was inaugurated by MNA Malik Muhammad Iqbal Channar along with Commissioner Irfan Ali Kathia and DC on Thursday. It may be mentioned that a sahulat bazaar was already functioning in the city near Mori Gate, which mainly served the residents of the old walled city areas.

Published in Dawn, May 8th, 2026