RAWALPINDI - The poor arrangements made by the city district administration for Punjab Youth Internship Programme (PUIP) held at Pir Mehar Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University and three hours late arrival of Punjab Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif earned the ire of thousands of students and their parents, who had come from four districts of the division here on Friday.
The PUIP management had informed some 4,900 postgraduate and graduate students of the four districts Rawalpindi, Chakwal, Jhelum and Attock via email and SMS to come at PMAS-AAUR first at 8:30am and than later at 12:30pm to get internship letters during a ceremony to be headed by the CM Punjab.
The much-confused students and their parents, however, started reaching the varsity from early in the morning to avoid any trouble. But the mismanagement, poor arrangements on the part of district administration as well as late arrival of chief guest marred the event.
A large number of students, most of them were female students who had come from far-flung areas, went back to their homes without receiving internship letters. The negligence of the district administration can be judged from the fact that a total of 4,000 chairs were placed in the ground under open sky for students and their parents numbering in more than 4,900. No water, refreshment or food was offered to the participants because of which many participants and old people got unconscious.
Similarly, the organisers did not make any separate enclosures for media men to cover the event. Moreover, police did not allow the DSNGs of electronic media to stay near the Pindal.
A small stage was set up for the journalists belonging to electronic media and due to shortage of space, camera men and reporters staged a protest demo and decided to boycott the function.  At a time when PML-N leadership never misses a chance of blasting federal government for pushing Punjab into darkness owing to unannounced power load shedding, the district administration switched on more than 40 flash lights of 500 watts and 1000 watts even during full day light.
On intervention of PML-N MPA Sheryar Riaz, the DCO managed to arrange seats for media persons while the electronic media personnel found great hardships to cover the event. Rabia Bashir, who got degree in BS (IT) from PMAS-AAUR, expressed her deep anger over the treatment meted out to her by the management. She said that she left Chakwal at 06:00am to reach the varsity on time. “Now, 8 hours have passed but function was not started. I have not eaten any thing since morning. Cell phones are not working. No body is offering us even a glass of water here. What kind of this function is?” she said in a distressed voice.
Asifa Mobeen, Gold Medalists in BS (Honors), hailing from Wah Cantt, said that on the directions of PYIP management, she along with her mother has come at 8:30am for participating in the function. Full 8 hours have gone, but the organisers did not ask us for food, water, drinks or any other refreshment.
“We tried to approach the concerned officials like DCO to register our concern and anger, but the police personnel and security officials did not allow us to meet them and asked us to sit silent.”
Many other students including Amber Rashid, a disabled student of MA, M.Ed, Amir Khan from Talagang, Fareeha from Attock, Sabeen from Jhelum also expressed their anguish over the treatment given to them by the organisers.
According to them, many students fell fainted while some of them suffered problems of dehydration because of non-supply of drinking water to them.