MULTAN - Unfit passenger vans plying on the city roads and suburban areas were life risk for commuters due to their bad condition. Most of the passenger vans were below 1990 model while only few were above 2000 models and their seating capacity was of 14 to 15 passengers but the drivers and helpers stuffed more than 23 passengers. The City Traffic Police, Environment Department, District Regional Transport Authority and other concerned departments were not paying heed toward the issue.

The passenger vans using route from Multan to Kehrorpaka, Multan to Thatha Sadiqabad, Multan to Shujabad, Multan to Raja Raam and Multan to Dunyapur via Basti Malook can be seen parked on roads due to various technical faults. It was observed that the residents of the adjacent areas of Multan have no alternative transport facility. A local passenger van was charging Rs 80 from each passenger from Dunyapur to Multan while the seven seater APV was charging Rs 220 from each. Another major threat was installation of sub-standard LPG cylinders which were also being used in these vans.

Besides all these issues, over speeding and race have also led to various mishaps in which many people lost their lives and various had been disabled in the past. Most of the road accidents were occurred due to these issues but no proper mechanism has been noticed to control such kind of violations on roads.

A driver of the passenger van Akbar Shah told this news agency that every van has to reach Multan from Kehrorpaka which is about 85 kilometer away from Multan in 80 minutes, so they have to drive the vehicles at above 80 kilometer per hour.

A passenger Muhammad Ilyas said that traveling with family in these vehicles was not possible because most of the male passengers were being accommodated on female seats due to minimum seating capacity. He said that illiterate staff of the vans, untrained drivers having no driving license and improper monitoring by the concerned departments were the main cause for public trouble. He demanded of quarters concerned to ensure a reasonable transport facility for masses.

When contacted, the spokesman of City Traffic police Muhammad Adnan informed that CTP issuing challans and imposing fine over violations of license, incomplete documents, over speeding and over loading on the passenger vans. He added that fitness certificates, route permits and other related matters were under district regional transport authority (RTA).

Rs 5 mln fake pesticide recovered

Agriculture department pest warning team recovered fake and expired pesticide worth Rs five million. The pest warning team led by Director pest warning Dr Muhammad Aslam, assistant director Shahid Hussain and others on a tip off conducted raid at private pesticide company warehouse in industrial estate area and recovered fake and expiry pesticide.                  The new labels were being dispatched on the pesticide by removing old labels.

The application was submitted with Muzaffarabad police station for lodging case against the owner of the company namely Muhammad Athar s/o Sharif Muhammad resident of Karachi. The samples of the pesticide were sent to laboratory for analysis, while the recovered pesticide handed over to police.

121 power-pilferers caught in south Punjab

The Multan Electric Power Company (Mepco) caught 121 power-pilferers during separate operations throughout south Punjab in a day, an official of the Company said on Sunday.

Mepco teams raided different places in Multan, Vehari, Sahiwal, Rahimyar Khan, Muzaffargarh, Bahawalnagar, Khanewal and Dera Ghazi Khan and detected theft of 167,000 units, the Mepco spokesman said.

A sum of over Rs 2.9 million was imposed as fine on power pilferers over their involvement in tampering with the body of meters, direct supply, installing loop in meters, slowing down meters, meter dead stop and meter screen wash.

‘Friends of Cardiology

contributing generously for CPEIC Multan patients’

Friends of Cardiology (FoC), a non-governmental organization founded in 2012, has been donating generously for provision of missing facilities at Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi Institute of Cardiology (CPEIC) for the last over seven years.

Executive Director CPEIC Dr Rana Altaf told APP on Sunday that philanthropists of Multan responded positively to his request to meet shortage of funds to provide free-of-cost medical facilities to the poor and needy patients, as the budget allocated for the Institute was only Rs 190 million in 2012.

Initially, the Emergency of the Hospital consisted of 18 beds only, which was expanded to 54 beds after it was renovated by the FoC. He said the Khawaja family, including Khawaja Jalauddin Romi, Khawaja Younus and others got a mosque built at the health facility, adding that shortage of stunts, heart valves and pace-maker, which are costly items, was also met by the FoC members. Chairman Board of Management CPEIC Mian Rehman Naseem, Sheikh Amjad and Khawaja Younus contributed these items from 2012 to 2014, Dr Rana Altaf said.

The budget, the Executive Director added, was increased to Rs 200 million by the Punjab government back in 2015, adding that the Hospital began installing heart stunts free of cost for needy patients after increase in the budget. Ismail got constructed 30-bed Intensive Care Unit (ICU) after the name of his only son Usman, who was murdered, he added.

Later on, the FoC was joined by industrialists including Khawaja Anees, Chaudhry Zulfiqar Anjuman, Khawaja Iqbal, Mian Fareed Naseem, Fareed Mughais and others, he told.

An NGO has been proving free lunch and dinner for the last many years, he said and added that it also donates toys for kid patients besides coffins in case of death of children.

Dr Altaf said that the FoC had got Angiography machine worth Rs 50 million installed recently at CPEIC. The Hospital administration did not take donations in cash and philanthropists purchase the required medicines and medical items for patients, he clarified. A 24-bed Angiogarphy Ward, chillers, fiber sheets and bed-sheets have also been provided by the philanthropists, he added.