GUJRANWALA, July 18: The District Headquarters Hospital is without essential medicines, as Rs6.5 million allocated for buying medicines lapsed on June 30, even though the purchase committee invited tenders for this purpose.
Reports reaching here on Thursday said the government had allocated Rs13.6 million for the purchase of medicines and equipment at the DHQ hospital for 2002-03. However, the DHQ administration spent Rs6.1 million on buying medicines and other equipment for patients during the fiscal year. The purchase committee failed to purchase medicines out of the rest of the amount, which had lapsed.
Patients have protested against the shortage of medicines and demanded that the lapsed funds should be restored for the provision of medicines.
PLEA DISMISSED: The district and sessions judge dismissed on Friday defamation and damages case against the city Nazim and tehsil city council land manager.
Petitioner Muhammad Riaz Mughal, a resident of Rajkot (Dhulley), informed the court that tehsil city council land manager Arif Mahmood Butt had demolished his factory at the behest of City Nazim Babu Javed Ahmad without any justification. He said his wife breathed her last due to sudden shock of heavy loss, demanding Rs2 million damages.
The respondents’ counsel said the petitioner had constructed a factory by occupying an official land, and the city Nazim rightly got demolished his factory and evacuated official land from his possession.
The judge, Riazul Hassan Alvi, dismissed the defamation and damages case against the city nazim and tehsil city council land manager.
Meanwhile, the Nazim has directed the city tehsil council to continue its campaign against the encroachments to widen bazaars and streets.
Butchers held: Around a dozen butchers were arrested for their failure to display rate lists and for selling putrid meat and beef on higher rates in Ghakkhar Town on Friday.
The butchers were selling meat at Rs140 per kilogramme and beef at Rs70 per kilogramme as against the fixed price of Rs110 and Rs55 per kilogramme, respectively. The citizens informed the district administration that butchers were involved in overcharging besides selling meat of sick animals on higher rates.
A joint team of the police and district administration, headed by special judicial magistrate Dr Safder Hussain, raided shops of butchers and arrested them.
Police have registered a case against the arrested butchers and are investigating.
Meanwhile, butchers of Wazirabad went on a shutter-down strike in protest against the arrest of their colleagues. The protesting butchers said they could not sell the meat and beef on official rates because the prices of animals had been raised in the market.
They pledged that they would continue their strike till the release of their colleagues and the withdrawal of cases against them.