Mailsi THQ Hospital doctors observe strike against police

MULTAN: Doctors of the THQ Hospital Mailsi on Friday observed a complete strike against the police for not arresting the accused involved in ransacking the hospital’s equipment and torturing the MS.

Addressing a press conference here, PMA president Prof Dr Masoodur Rauf said that they had decided extending their protest to nearby tehsils and districts against the alleged police non-cooperation. It would extend to the district headquarters in the south Punjab after failing to get justice, he added.

He said that a citizen was injured in a dacoity on resistant and he was brought in very critical condition at the THQ Hospital Mailsi, a day before Eid, and he was referred to the Bahawalpur Victoria Hospital but the patient could not survive and died on the way to the hospital. To it, he told, the family members and relatives of the deceased allegedly ransacked the THQ Hospital Mailsi equipment and allegedly beat and tortured MS Dr Majid. The police were called but the force did not interfere into the whole action and avoided to arrest a single attacker, he alleged. The police did not include 7-ATA section in the FIR, he said.

He said that the PMA office-bearers of Multan, Muzaffargarh and Vehari visited the THQ Hospital Mailsi and called a meeting to discuss the issue. The Vehari Health CEO, the Mailsi AC and the SHO concerned assured their complete cooperation in registration of the complaint, he maintained.

Prof Dr Masoodur Rauf said that the PMA had demanded security guards and appointment of police personal at the hospital immediately and approval of a security bill from the Punjab Assembly on urgent basis. He told that the PMA chapters had observed a complete strike on Friday but still the police were using delaying tactics in arresting the accused.

He said that the PMA chapters had decided that no patient would be attended at all indoors and OPDs at Vehari district hospitals on Saturday (today) in protest. He warned that a strike would be observed at Multan, Khanewal, Lodhran, Vehari, Muzaffargarh and Layyah hospitals on Monday if the police did not arrest the nominated accused.

Cotton growers: The Punjab Directorate of Pest Warning and Quality Control Pesticides has asked the cotton growers to give additional attention to their crop to get maximum yield.

Talking to journalists after visiting different spots in Multan, Larr, Basti Malok, Dunyapur, Lodhran and Bahawalpur on Friday, PWQC Punjab Director General Syed Zafaryab Haider said that cotton flowering and fruiting process had been started and growers must pay additional attention to their crop for maximum production. He said that the Agriculture Department experts were available round the clock for counseling and the cotton growers could take help from them regarding technical information on watering, fertilisers and prevention from pests and weeds. He said that hotspots of whitefly had been observed at almost all places in districts and growers should adopt preventive measures by applying recommended pesticides against pests and weeds.

Meanwhile, a PWQCP team had seized spurious pesticides worth Rs 3.5 million from a pesticide factory, officials said. The special team led by PWQCP Director Dr Muhammad Aslam seized the spurious pesticides. The samples of the pesticides had sent to a lab for analysis while a complaint had been lodged with the Mumtazabad police for registration of a case against the accused for manufacturing the spurious pesticides.

The PWQCP officials told The News that adulteration of pesticides and supply of substandard material to poor and illiterate farmers was a great menace for agriculture sector. The spurious pesticides were neither tested nor evaluated as they were not subjected to regulatory process for pesticides, he added. The spurious pesticides could pose a high risk to the farmers, the environment and crops, he said.