Minister orders inquiry against hospital staff

Sindh Minister for Health Dr. Sagheer Ahmed has constituted a four-member inquiry committee to inquire alleged negligence by the staff of a private hospital in PECHS, resulting in brain paralysis of a 20-year old boy Raheel Naeem and directed the committee to submit its report within three days after thorough inquiry in the matter.
The committee will be headed by Special Secretary Health while Director General Health Services, EDO Health and THO Jamshed Town will be the members of the committee.
Minister Health said that if negligence and carelessness in the treatment of Raheel Naeem is proved in the inquiry report, stern action would be initiated against the responsible staff of the hospital. He further said that to regulate and monitor private hospitals in the province, a bill would soon be presented before the provincial assembly.
Meanwhile, Dr. Sagheer Ahmed assured Abdul Naeem, father of Raheel that the person responsible for the present condition of Raheel would not be spared. He further said that few private hospitals were continuously violating the code of ethics and are bent upon to malign a noble profession like medicines which will not be tolerated at any cost.

Rain, KESC and KWSB add to miseries of citizens

No electricity and filth bubbling out of gutters and spilling on the roads making life difficult for pedestrians - just a few drops of rainwater are enough to reveal the shortcomings in the electricity and sewerage systems of the city.

Citizens were deprived of electricity as soon as the rain started. Most of the localities falling within the jurisdiction of Malir, Gadap, Federal B Area, SITE, Landhi and Banaras have yet to get their power supply back.

Ijaz Alam, a resident of Keamari, told Daily Times, “There was a power breakdown in the area soon after it started raining and power has not been restored since the last six hours.”

The rain which otherwise proves to be a blessing of God, also failed to impress Zulfiqar Jan, a resident of Landhi, who told this scribe that he has been waiting for the resumption of power supply for the last 11 hours. “We are calling up the KESC help line but not getting any positive response,” said Jan in despair as he spoke with this scribe over the phone.

Not only has the electricity situation caused problems for the citizens but also the sewerage system. Office goers had to face extreme problems as gutters in most parts of the city were overflowing. Streets in Saddar and Pakistan Chowk area from where a large number of office goers pass by were full of sewage water. While the sewage water on streets was in abundance, Muhammad Rizwan a resident of Pakistan Chowk area, claimed that the supply of drinking water had been stopped since morning and there wasn’t any water to drink.

Most of the people who wanted to go to mosques for Friday prayers could not do so. “One should go to prayers wearing clean clothes,” Muhammad Imran, a resident of Pakistan Chowk area, adding that it was not possible to cross roads keeping one’s clothes clean. However The Karachi Electricity Supply Company (KESC) and the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) have their own version of story to tell.

The KESC said that because of the preparedness of the utility, the advent of monsoon had caused much less harm to the power distribution system than was anticipated and the repair work has been carried out at a fast pace. “As a matter of fact, only 266 out of over 1,150 feeders had tripped between Thursday evening and 2 PM on Friday. They have been fixed within a couple of hours,” claimed KESC’s Chief Operating Officer Distribution Jan Abbas Zaidi.

However, he admitted that some grid stations had developed faults including Malir, Civil Aviation and Gadap, and added that the first two grids were fixed while work on the Gadap grid was still underway. “The KDA-Malir 132 KV circuit where the cable had fallen down was also being repaired. Work on the Garden-Jacob Lines circuit, Federal B Area Block 10, SITE and Dr. Zubair sub-station is also being carried out,” the KESC official said.

Meanwhile, The KWSB held the KESC responsible for the situation. A spokesman of the KWSB said that 100 million gallon water could not be supplied to the city owing to the four-hour long power disconnection to the Dhabeji Pump Station. (DT Report)

Citizens cautioned against high tides

People have been warned by the Governor of Sindh Dr. Eshrat ul Ebad yesterday to avoid bathing in the water with high tides and thus protect their lives from impending dangers due to likely water onslaughts in the city. Fishermen in particular have also been particularly cautioned to avoid their daily, routine fishing during high tides in next couple of days.
Dr Ishrat-ul-Ebad Khan yesterday directed all relevant departments to apprise the people living along coastal areas of Sindh about the expected thunderstorm and take immediate precautionary steps to shift these people to safer areas. In a statement, the governor said that fishermen should be halted from sailing into the sea during the next 24 hours in view of storm threat.
At the same time, the government has also taken steps to ensure that any damage is kept restricted and as minimum as possible in case of tempestuous directions due to high water tides being expected and that may play havoc with anything near its wild journey.
Meanwhile, Sindh Minister for Health Dr. Sagheer Ahmed yesterday directed all Executive District Officers (Health) of the province to be alert and ready for any emergency due to forecast of heavy rain and rough sea.
In a directive issued to all EDOs (Health), Provincial Health Minister ordered ensuring availability of required doctors, staff, medicines and lifesaving drugs to cope with any natural calamity.
Emergency should be declared in health institutions, especially of Karachi, Thatta and Badin, which are more likely to be affected from extreme weather, said a handout.
Dr. Sagheer Ahmed said that EDOs should be in constant contact with their respective local governments, so as to provide immediate healthcare facilities to the affected people. Coordinated efforts with provincial disaster management authority should also be ensured to provide relief to affectees, he further directed.
He also directed EDOs (Health) Karachi, Thatta, and Badin to establish medical camps in the coastal areas with the provision of ambulance.
He warned that no negligence would be tolerated in this regard. (NC Report)

‘Land mafia, underworld pose threat to city’s peace’

Sindh Assembly members were told on Wednesday that there is a dire need to keep vigil over land mafia and underworld members as they could damage the city’s peace once again. Participating in a debate on Sindh budget 2009-10, Health Minister Dr Sagheer Ahmed expressed concern that land mafia and members of the underworld were continuing their terrorist activities in Karachi, and asked the Sindh Home Department to keep an eye on them. Minister Auqaf Abdul Haseeb said gangsters were using Mewa Shah Graveyard for storing their weapons and burying bodies of their murdered enemies. He demanded the home department to take action against the gangsters and ensure peace in adjoining areas of the graveyard.

400 CNG buses in Sindh soon’

Sindh Minister for Transport Akhtar Jadoon told the Sindh Assembly members on Tuesday that around 400 CNG buses would be running in the province soon.

Replying to a supplementary query during the question hour, he said that the government was busy in providing high-pressure filling stations for this purpose and land has been provided for at least five filling stations in the city.

Responding to another question, the minister said that the provincial government has recommended a scheme to the federal government for shifting bus stations out of the city. According to him, the provincial government has also prepared an alternate plan under which the bus stations would be shifted to defunct KTC depots situated in different parts of Karachi.

He said that previously these depots were handed over to the City District Government Karachi but now the Sindh government was taking them back. At present, he added, these depots are in use of nazims, the police and Rangers. They have been issued notices to vacate these depots, he said. According to him, the property is worth billions of rupees.

He admitted that bus terminals set up for the buses arriving here from Baluchistan have no basic facilities although Rs 300 are charged for each bus.

Earlier, responding to questions regarding his department, Sindh Minister for Excise and Taxation Mukesh Kumar Chawla said that the luxury tax imposed on over 1500CC imported and local cars would be recovered from July this year. It would be a one time tax, he added. To another query he said that his department has set up seven check posts on two border points for checking narcotics smuggling.

Husband acquitted: Driver handed death penalty in Afreen Baig murder case

Additional District and Sessions Judge South Abdul Razzak on Monday sentenced an accused to death in the murder case of TV artist-turned director Afreen Baig while her husband and the main accused Farooq Mengal was acquitted of the charge of masterminding the murder. The convicted accused Muhammad Bux was the driver of the deceased. The third accused namely Zahida, the housemaid of the deceased and wife of the convicted accused, is still absconding in the case. According to the prosecution, accused Farooq Mengal planned the murder and was issuing instructions from Lahore to the alleged killer couple.

Mirza Ishtiaq Baig, the complainant alleged that Farooq had his wife murdered, as she was about to receive a hefty sum of money from one of her drama serial. The body of the deceased was found with hand tied and marks of torture. Muhammad Bux and Zahida went missing soon after the murder and were seen leaving the house with their luggage. They were arrested from the house of a relative in the Punjab and were brought to Karachi to stand trial. Zahida was bailed out after which she absconded and was declared a proclaimed offender. Announcing the verdict, the ADJ sentenced Muhammad Bux to death while acquitting Mengal. The court also ordered payment of rupees 100,000 as Qisas to the heirs of the deceased and also sentenced him to a seven-year term on charge of robbery.

Pakistan lift Twenty20 World Cup

Considered as underdogs, Pakistani cricket players rose to the top by beating Sri Lanka in the Twenty20 World Cup finals at the Lord’s in London yesterday.
The victory coincided with international Father's Day and 56th birth anniversary of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto.
It wasn’t the edge-of-the-seat final that would have signed off the ICC World Twenty20 in style, but that won't matter to Pakistan who gave their nation a something to savour amid troubled times. From the moment Tillakaratne Dilshan, the tournament's top-scorer, fell in the opening over Pakistan had a grip on the match. Shahid Afridi, who emerged as their trump card, guided his team home in the 19th over with an unbeaten 54, and it was left to Younis Khan to raise the trophy in what he later announced would be his final Twenty20 international, in front of a sea of delirious Pakistan supporters.
The masses were cheering from early on as Abdul Razzaq - a great individual comeback-story among the team's resurgence - claimed three key wickets in his opening burst to leave Sri Lanka on 32 for 4.
The destination of the trophy was sealed when he swung a huge six over midwicket off Isuru Udana in the 18th over - the moment when Sangakkara gambled on one of his weaker bowling links - and followed that with another boundary off a high full toss.
Shoaib Malik played his part with 24 off 22 balls in a match-winning stand of 76 after Kamran Akmal had given early impetus to the top-order.
Pakistan's rise from rank outsiders to champions is an extraordinary display for a team that had to beat Netherlands by a significant margin to even stay in the event during the group stages. However, they have peaked at the right time and couldn't have produced a more complete performance for a final. They fell five runs short two years ago at Johannesburg, but this time there was no mistake.
Sri Lanka, who have been the model of consistency, were caught off guard by aggressive tactics. In a stirring atmosphere, Pakistan were on top of their game from the start as 17-year-old Mohammad Aamer belied his inexperience with a tone-setting opening over. In a clear plan he bowled short at Dilshan who was distinctly discomforted by the approach. Against the fifth ball Dilshan tried to take the initiative with a scoop over short fine-leg, but only managed to pick out the man on the edge of the circle.
He had middled virtually all his attempts at the shot during the tournament and what a time for it to go wrong. (NC Report)

KBCA starts action against illegal use of govt land

KARACHI: Karachi Building Control Authority (KBCA) has started taking action against illegal constructions on government land leased out for 30 years for agriculture and poultry farming but instead is being used as farm house in Gadap Town. On the directives of Chief Controller of Buildings Manzoor Qadir, notices have been issued to the farm houses used for illegal commercial purposes and on non-implementation of the notices in given mean time, demolition of all those farm houses will be undertaken, a KBCA release said yesterday.

Shoaib Siddiqui urges youth to meet the challenge

By Mohammad Nazakat Ali

The Secretary Sports and Youth Affairs to the Government of Sindh, Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui, made some thought-provoking observations in his concluding remarks in the seminar organized by his department with the collaboration of the Junior Chamber International Pakistan at Regent Plaza Hotel, Karachi, on June 18.

Shoaib Siddiqui, acclaimed as one of the most enterprising government officers, delivered a typically inspirational speech in which he urged the youngsters to make things happen in the available environment instead of waiting for the situation to become ideal for them.

“You have to stand up and deliver in the prevailing circumstances. You can’t play the waiting game. You have grown up. It’s time for you to deliver now,” he observed.

“There are problems everywhere. You can’t get ideal environment anywhere. So the key to success lies in your ability to come good in every situation. Remember every problem presents an opportunity. Have more faith in your abilities and overcome the obstacles coming your way with true grit,” he advised.

“The government on its part is alive to the situation and we are trying our level best to help out the youth of the province by various means. Upon the directives of our Provincial Minister, Syed Faisal Ali Subzwari, we have declared 2009 as the year of youth,” Shoaib Siddiqui recalled.

“Today’s programme is a step in this direction. The department of Youth Affairs, Government of Sindh, had taken the initiative of holding a round table discussion on issues/challenges of the youth with the collaboration of Jaycees,” he pointed out.

The provincial secretary informed the audience regarding the youth development schemes being processed and initiated during the current year. He further described the various concentrated efforts.

The students from different universities and colleges of the province participated in the discussion. The eminent personalities like, Fatima Soriya Bajya, Raees Gaya, Justice Zahid Qurban Alvi, Dr. Majid Ali, Prof. Sehar Ansari, Mashood Rizvi, Heer Soho and Jalaluddin made deliberation at length during the course of discussion to identify the core issues related to youth.

Speaking on the occasion President of JCI Pakistan, Wasif Iqbal talked about the activities of JCI and discussed the opportunities available in JCI for the youth at their chapters at Karachi, Hyderabad, Kotri and Sukkur.

During the long inter-active session the issues discussed in particular were about non-availability of chance to speak out for core issues/matters pertaining to youth, unemployment, lack of education at all level of society, lack of oriented education at every level, lack of role of educational institutions, lack of career counseling, role of government in organizing youth including sports activities at mass level and to have programs to deal the professionals and post graduates at all level, need of unity at the national level, investment on research work, platform for youth to work for betterment for society, improvement of educational syllabus, lacking of placement of competent people at important places and role of media and NGOs in youth development.

Power cut continues in Karachi despite passing several hours

KARACHI: The metropolis is still experiencing a major power breakdown despite passing more than 16 hours, as electricity has not been restored completely in any area of the city.

According to KESC sources, two units of Bin Qasim Power Plant has been restored and partial power supply has been restored in Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Gulistan-e-Johar, Malir, Landhi, Defence Phase I, Gizri, SITE and Haroonabad. Almost 80 percent of the city is still deprived of electricity.

The spokesperson of KESC said two units of Bin Qasim have been restored whereas power supply from a private power plant would be started soon and electricity supply to the city would be restored completely within few hours.

On the other hand, Minister of Water and Power Raja Pervaiz Ashraf said electricity will be restored within two hours.