MUZAFFARGARH - A boat carrying 17 picnickers capsized in River Chenab at Punjnad due to a high tide in the river on second day of EIdul Fitr. The Rescue teams saved the lives of six people including a woman and two children while 11 others are still missing.
District Police Officer Zeeshan Asghan Malik said, "Survival of missing people would be a miracle because human being can't survive for 24 hours in the water" He said," We have registered a case under section 302 PPC against three contractors Ghulam Qasim Mirani, Muhammad Qasim and Jamil Boasan, boatman Darvesh and arrested two of them.
Muzaffargarh acting DCO Muzaffar Siyal said, "Three bodies have been recovered from the river, two of them are identified as Zawar Hussain son of Muhammad Hussain of Mailsi, Faraz Hussain s/o Bhora while nine people are still missing. The missing people include Muhammad Azam, Muhammad Khizar, Muzammil Hussain, Muhammad Arshad, Abdul Qayyum , Mujahid, Taj Muhammad and two unidentified women.”
Rescue team said that Zeeshan and Kamran, sons of Muhammad Arshad were still missing. The acting DCO said Section 144 had already been imposed at Head Panjad which prohibits boating in the river but the restriction was violated. Despite imposition of the section 144, no policeman was deployed there.
After hearing the mishap, a large number of people crowded at the site of the incident.
In Okara, PPP district leader Aamir Hayat Wattoo said that people had fed up with the politics of Sharif brothers who were even unable to control crime in the province.
“Incidents of dacoity, highway robbery and bloodshed are order of the day in Punjab. There is no governance in the province and the chief minister is doing politics on loadshedding. If the provincial government cannot control crime, it should part with the power,” he said.
He said that the people who are dreaming of departure of the federal government live in fools’ paradise. Under the leadership of President Zardari, the PPP-led government had strengthened democracy.