LAHORE, Sept 10: Samanabad Town Women Councillors Network has demanded mandatory allocation of 33 per cent local bodies funds for women to make their representation meaningful.

Voicing the demand at a network meeting organised by the Pattan Development Organisation, the newly-elected president, district councillor Bushra Malik, said the government had reserved 33 per cent seats for women in union, town and district councils, without giving them a proportionate share in funds. This discriminatory approach on part of the government had rendered women’s representation in local bodies meaningless, as it amounted to considering them inferior to their male colleagues, she said.

District councillor Tabassam Nazir and Samanabad Town Councillor Naheed Adeel were elected the network’s vice-president and secretary-general, respectively. Other office-bearers include Syed Nazar Fatima (finance secretary) and Mussarrat Perveen (information secretary), while Mussarat Aziz, Nishat Jabbar, Shahzadi Kabir and Riffat Rashid were elected executive committee members.

PGMI: Around 400 doctors from four provinces and northern areas have been enrolled for different diploma and degree courses in the Postgraduate Medical Institute (PGMI) for the 2006-7 academic session starting from Sept 14.

This was disclosed during a meeting of the institute held at the Lahore General Hospital here with PGMI principal Prof Dr Sajjad Husain in the chair to review arrangements for starting classes for new academic session.

The participants of the meeting were informed that the PGMI was providing international standard higher medical education to doctors at much lower cost as compared to foreign countries. Its graduates were serving all over the world.

The institute had also increased the number of courses from 23 to 60.

Punjab Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi had also approved the construction of a seven-storey building for the institute which would be completed during the next three years.

Wapda union: The National Labour Federation has decided to form Wapda Employees Akhuwwat Union in place of Paigham Union.

The decision to form the new union was taken by federation president Mairajuddin Khan following the refusal of Paigham Union President S.D.Saqib and Secretary-General Salahuddin to relinquish offices despite the adoption of a no-confidence resolution against them.

They got themselves re-elected by convening another meeting of the union instead. The federation has appealed to the NIRC to declare the election of S.D. Saqib and Salahuddin null and void and appealed to government to order action on the FIR lodged against them under section 420 CrPC.