BAHAWALPUR, Sept 28: The local district accounts office is the first among six selected cities in South Punjab which has been linked with Lahore and Islamabad through online facility on Thursday.

The district office has been completely computerised and automated under the improvement of financial reporting and auditing (PIFRA) project.

In his inaugural speech, District Nazim Tariq Cheema said the district was second to none in whole of the province as far as uplift schemes were concerned.

Earlier, district accounts officer Abdul Latif Shahid Joyia said that under the PIFRA, a computer laboratory costing about Rs10 million was established in the office.

He said now all kinds of payments, including pension, would be transferred through 24 computers installed in the office.

This system, he said, would also be introduced in Rahim Yar Khan, Khanewal, Multan, Dera Ghazi Khan and Sahiwal districts in due course of time. He said that Bahawalnagar and Lodhran district accounts offices would also be computerised shortly.

FINED: Around 780 profiteers were fined Rs0.5 million in raids conducted on shops in different areas of the district during the last three days.

This was stated at a district price control committee meeting on Thursday under the chairmanship of DCO Muhammad Ashraf.

The meeting was informed that three raiding teams were constituted for the city to check prices.

DO (revenue) Faisal Zahoor said about 12,000 poor families were provided sasta ration under the chief minister’s scheme. The DCO handed over 13 new motorcycles to assistants of the District Education Monitoring Cell.

ARRESTED: At least 91 proclaimed offenders and 57 court absconders were arrested during the current month in the district.