SAHIWAL: The laundry plant (LP) of the Sahiwal Teaching Hospital has been made operational after a delay of nearly a decade.

The gas-powered plant was a part of the PC-1 for the upgrade of the 467-bed District Headquarters Hospital into 1,000-bed Sahiwal Teaching Hospital at a cost of Rs3.5bn in November 2014.

The hospital was affiliated with the Sahiwal Medical College. At that time Rs57.6m was allocated for the laundry plant. Although procured in 2016–17 and shipped in 2019, the plant remained idle due to alleged mismanagement by successive managements of the hospital. Many attributed the delay to the corruption involved by the contractor in delivering the plant’s full machinery.

Dr Akhter, the principal of the college, said the delay was compounded by poor handover of machinery, theft of major components between 2019 and 2023, inadequate staff training, and weak oversight by the management. The gas connection was completed in March 2026, he added.

MPA Malik Qasim said the public complaints had prompted the chief minister to take notice of irregularities and corruption in the projects for the upgrade of DHQ Hospital whose costs had escalated from Rs3bn to Rs9bn between 2017 and 2024. Following these concerns, the Specialised Healthcare & Medical Education Department formed inquiry committees, led first by Deputy Secretary Atiqur Rehman and then by Saqib Ateel, member Chief Minister’s Inspection Team. Their probes highlighted the plant’s prolonged non-functionality and fixed responsibility.

Six hospital senior management officials are facing action under Punjab Employees Efficiency, Discipline and Accountability (PEEDA) Act over charges of inefficiency, misconduct and corruption. The charges were leveled by Azmat Mahmood, the secretary Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education.

Those proceeded against include former SMC principals Dr Imran Hassan and Dr Akhtar Mehboob, MS Dr Nisar Ahmad Saadi, director finance Dr Muhammad Aleem, biomedical engineer Ahmer Bilal, store keeper Ali Safdar, superintendent engineer Zulfiqar Ali Tabassum (Building Department), and SDO Tariq Nadeem Sheikh. Four retired officials — Dr Zafar Hussain, the late Dr Abdul Aziz, Dr Mushtaq Ahmed, and the late Dr Ehsanul Haq — have also been found responsible but not proceeded against under PEEDA Act.

According to MPA Malik Qasim, the CMIT report accused the private contractor of delaying machinery dispatch of machinery by eight years, altering specifications and breaching contractual obligations.

Dr Akhter says the old outsourced laundry staff is operating the plant.

DROWNING: After three days hectic search, Rescue 1122 succeeded to recover the bodies of a woman and her son who had drowned in the Lower Bari Doab Canal (LBDC) on Thursday

Mr Adnan, Rescue 1122 spokesperson, said the body of Aliya Bibi (33) was recovered near Jinnah Library, 1.6km away from the point of drowning, and her son the body of Ahmed, 7, was recovered from Harappa, 25km away.

Report said Aliya and Ahmed drowned after the boy slipped into the canal while playing near the Pul Bazaar (Old Bridge). In a desperate attempt to save him, Aliya jumped into the canal, but both drowned.

The dead bodies were handed over to family after legal proceedings.

Published in Dawn, May 11th, 2026