BAHAWALPUR City News

Six killed in two road accidents

From Our Correspondent

BAHAWALPUR: Six people were killed in two road accidents here on Thursday.

In the first incident, a speeding truck hit a passenger van near Musaffir Khana Adda on KLP National Highway. As a result, van driver Muhammad Jameel and goldsmith Muhammad Asif of Ahmadpur East were killed on the spot and 14 others were injured. All the injured were shifted to the Bahawal Victoria Hospital (BVH) where Syed Iftikhar Shah of Mohallah Shikari and Syed Yousaf Shah of Ahmadpur East also died.

In the second incident, an overspeeding trailer hit two donkey carts near Basti Khataan on Bahawalnagar-Haroonabad, killing Muhammad Ashraf and his nephew Muhammad Ahmad on the spot. According to Donga Bonga SHO Pervez Akhtar Bajwa, the driver fled from the scene after leaving trailer on the road.

ANTI-ENCROACHMENT DRIVE: District Coordination Officer Bahawalpur Dr Ahtesham Anwar Mehr has urged the traders and civil society activists to play their constructive and effective role in the ongoing anti-encroachment drive, which would enhance aesthetic profile of the city and provide easy access to the consumers to shopping markets in the city.

He made these remarks while presiding over a meeting of traders, civil society representatives and government officials here on Thursday. He said that the district administration had planned to establish a modern food street to convert Circular Road into a model avenue and to install traffic signals at important squares of the city. He further said that effective measures were under way to expand and beautify Shahi Bazaar situated inside Farid Gate. He said that the Bahawalpur Waste Management Company had the capacity to handle 86 per cent of garbage of the city and its capacity would be enhanced to dispose of 100 per cent garbage within the next three months. He further said that local committees would be constituted which would supervise the cleanliness and beautification process of the city. The meeting was attended by Additional District Collector Nosheen Malik, Assistant Commissioner City Rao Tasleem Akhtar, Assistant Commissioner Headquarters Muhammad Tayyab, Secretary Regional Transport Authority Tanveer Jhandeer, DO Accounts Muhammad Shafqat and others.

CRACKDOWN ON CRIMINALS: Regional Police Officer Muhammad Idrees Ahmad has directed all the district police officers of the region to launch a three-prong anti-crime crackdown to wipe out crimes.

He issued the directions while chairing a high level meeting here on Thursday. He said: “The immediate crackdown on proclaimed offenders in general and top 20 proclaimed offenders in particular is a key to check the prevalence of incidence of criminality.” The RPO emphasised the need to sharpen the vigil to check the free utilization of unregistered vehicles, which were mostly used in crimes. The investigation process must be streamlined on scientific lines by ensuring merit based investigation, he added. He directed the district police officers to take stringent measures against those investigation officers, who had failed to perform their duties diligently and honestly. Special measures must be taken to wipe out narcotics dens and brothel houses, he added. The RPO said that effective measures should be taken to install CCTV cameras and security alarms at all business centres, including jewellery shops, money changers and petrol pumps, and owners of these enterprises must be directed to adhere to the security standard operational procedures (SOPs).