GUJRANWALA - Dacoits and thieves deprived the citizens of cash, gold ornaments, vehicles in various incidents in Gujranwala.
At Eman Abad, armed men intercepted Iftikhar and looted Rs37,000 and two cell phones; in Waziraabad Tanvir was deprived of Rs36,000 and two cell phones, at Ferozwala robbers intercepted Mobeen and his family and looted Rs35,000, gold ornaments and cell phones, while Nasir was also deprived of Rs24,000 and two cell phones in this area, in Sadar police station limit Gujranwala robbers looted Rs20,000 and two cell phones from Mulazam Hussain, and in civil lines are Ashir was deprived of Rs31,000 and one cell phone.
Shabbir deprived of Rs19,000 and cell phone by dacoits, in Peoples Colony bandits looted Rs23,000 and cell phone from Sadiq, in Satellite Town armed men took away applied for motorcycle from Ansar, in theft incidents Mehran car of Nabeel and applied for motorcycles of Muhammad Ali, Sohail, Mushtaq and Aalam were stolen from different places of the city.
Meanwhile, a man injured for showing resistance during robbery incident here in Aroop police station limits. Irfan was going on motorcycle when two armed men intercepted him and snatched Rs70,000 when Irfan put up resistance the armed men opened fire at him and fled away with cash.

Health centre turns into cattle pen

SIALKOT -aiz Memorial Health Centre, named after renowned poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz, has been turned into a cattle pen. Politically-influential locals are using the centre for keeping their cattle after officials concerned abandoned it since several years.
According to official sources, Alys Faiz, wife of Faiz Ahmed Faiz, had established the health centre in memory of her husband, at his native village Kaala Qadir on March 31, 1986. The objective of establishing the centre was to provide free medical and health services to the locals. But, instead of taking advantage of the health centre, some politically influential people have converted it into a cattle shed and have been keeping their buffaloes, cows, horses and donkeys in the centre. The Faiz family had also assigned a local NGO Faiz Memorial Committee to take care of the centre but the NGO remained unable to look after it due to which the centre depicts a picture of cattle shed.
Meanwhile, Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) President Maj (r) Mansur Ahmed expressed grave concerns over the critical situation. He urged Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Gujranwala Commissioner Capt(r) Muhammad Asif to retrieve the health centre from the grabbers and restore it into the original status.

N man flays TMA apathy

HAFIZABAD - A PML-N candidate for the slot of chairman of Municipal Committee Hafizabad has lashed out at the TMA administrator for evincing little interest in providing civic amenities for the people.
Addressing a press conference in the Press Club Hafizabad, Garhi Awan Councillor Malik Phool Khan Awan alleged that almost all the TMA staff were corrupt and they have glued with the TMA and doing nothing for the betterment of the citizens.
He particularly referred to the pitiable conditions of Garhi Awan and the adjoining localities where rainwater and sewage gushed into the houses but the administrator of the TMA Noman Hafeez never bothered to visit the area.
He also criticised the TMA staff for creating insanitary conditions and multiplying encroachments on the roads. He said that if he was elected as chairman of MC he would address the problems of the city within shortest possible time. He said that he had the support of 23 out of 40 councilors of the city yet he has full confidence in the district and provincial leadership to nominate anyone according to the aspiration of the citizens.

TMA becomes corruption hub

DERA GHAZI KHAN - The Tehsil Municipal Administration (TMA) has become a corruption hub as it is deliberately ignoring the court directions to remove the encroachments from the main rods of the Dera Ghazi Khan city.
The encroachments have destroyed the city’s original beauty. A survey revealed that the Provincial Highway Division had established steel gates and barriers on the four main roads, from Traffic Chowk to Kalma Chowk and Andhay Wali Pully to City Pump in the year 2010-11. The purpose of establishing these steel gates and barriers was to avoid roads to be re-encroached. Currently, the situation is that the steel gates have been damaged and the steel barriers have been removed by the locals but TMA did not take any action against the culprits.
Due to the rampant corruption in TMA, dozens of citizens submitted applications to the Punjab Ombudsman against the TMA officials’ indifference to their duty and their connivance with the shopkeepers who were allowed to establish encroachments after bribe.
On the other hand, the court has also directed the TMA to inspect the roads and lane points to locate the places where from the barriers have been removed. But no investigation in this regard has yet been started by the TMA.