‘10pc Sargodha people suffering from hepatitis’

SARGODHA: At least 10 per cent population of Sargodha district is suffering from hepatitis and all the departments concerned should join hands with the health department to create awareness among the masses in this regard.

Chairing a special session, conducted under the Punjab Hepatitis Control Programme, here on Sunday, Deputy Commissioner Salwat Saeed directed all the assistant commissioners concerned to adopt an appropriate mechanism to create awareness among the masses through ‘Numberdars’ in the villages.

She also urged the clerics to use their influence for educating people about this fatal disease. Medicines and vaccines for all types of hepatitis were available in the district hospitals. The DC said the government was planning to make possible HIV tests before marriages and a law was also being prepared in this regard. The provincial government had also given approval for the purchase of Rs3.1 million PCR machines for diagnosis of hepatitis at the District Teaching Hospital, she said.

Fesco strives to recover Rs421.54m: Faisalabad Electric Supply Company (Fesco) Sargodha Circle is striving hard to recover the outstanding electricity bills of worth Rs421.54 million from the federal and provincial departments.

Talking to APP here on Sunday, superintendent engineer Circle Javaid Anwar Sindhu said that special task forces had been formed to check the power theft incidents and cases were also being registered against the power pilferers.

The Fesco has also issued emergency complaint numbers of all Sub-Divisional Officers (SDOs) and XENs for information about power pilferers and so far, 457 cases have been registered against the consumers stealing electricity and recoveries of Rs9.76 million were made. To a question about the reason behind the power theft, he said that responsibility could not be fixed only on the masses, as the concerned duty officers, SDOs and their staffers were also answerable.

He said Sargodha circle remained on top in achieving the recovery targets during the year 2018. A total of Rs421.54 million recoveries were pending before the federal and provincial government departments in five divisions of the circle, including Sargodha’s first division Rs92.20 million, Sargodha’s second division Rs51.63 million, Bhalwal division Rs12.77 million, Jauharabad Rs38.05 million, Mianwali Rs190.89 million and Sargodha’s third division Rs36.01 million.

Out of the total pending amount, Rs6.32 million is outstanding against the federal government departments, Rs147.58 million against the provincial departments, Rs83.54 million against the city district government and Rs184.10 million against the tehsil municipal administration.