LAHORE Lahore High Court Chief Justice Ijaz Ahmad Chaudhry Friday issued notice to federal government on a plea that all private medical colleges may be directed to allocate 50 per cent beds for free of charge treatment to the dengue patients which have reached over 19000 throughout the country, the largest number in Lahore, 15,600. The Court has also restored the earlier notification wherein the committee headed by Additional IG, Aftab Sultan, was delegated full authority to probe factors of dengue virus, the quality of liquid used in spray to kill the dengue mosquitoes and the larvas, as well as to the death caused by the epidemic. On the petition filed by Muhammad Azhar Siddique, the Court had learnt through Sultan that the Punjab Government through another notification has slashed powers of the committee to probe the issue. The court had sought explanation on the matter from the authorities concerned. Secretary Health during the course of hearing told the court on a query that powers of the inquiry committee, headed by Sultan, were curtailed on the proposal of Chief Secretary during a meeting with the Chief Minister, Shahbaz Sharif. The DCO Lahore stated that the City District Government was actively working with the Health department to combat the problem and eradicate the dengue virus and given this situation, no committee was required.