Khairpur administration takes over Bilawal Park after scam

SUKKUR: The district administration Khairpur has taken over the affairs of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari Park Khairpur after disclosure of scam in the park’s finances. The registrar of Shah Abdul Latif University (SALU) Khairpur on July 28, 2020, had written to DC Khairpur stating that following Covid-19, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari Park Khairpur remained closed and its income generating sources including cafeteria, car parking, gate entry tickets and others were adversely affected. Due to this the MoU signed on October 28, 2011 between SALU and district administration Khairpur should be considered as null and void. The DC Khairpur Ahmed Ali Qureshi confirmed that the district administration had taken over all affairs of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari Park, saying he is scrutinising details of the MoU. He said after reviewing all the documents and accounts he would suggest a high level inquiry if he traced any misappropriation. Qureshi said he had also written a letter to the park’s management demanding the details of all assets, including the accounts of the revenue generated through car parking, gate entry fees, cafeteria and other resources. Meanwhile, sources said Rs250,000 monthly were generated from Bilawal Bhutto Zardari Park. The SALU Khairpur had opened a tender for gate fee collections amounting of Rs151,000 monthly in 2019. The sources also claimed that Rs2.5 million was generated from the park annually thereby, Shah Abdul Latif University Khairpur earned around Rs26.4 millions in ten years. It is pertinent to mention that on July 28, Shah Abdul Latif University Khairpur had terminated its MoU with Sindh government to take care Bilawal Bhutto Zardari Park after a news story was published on July 27 in daily ‘The News’ about alleged corruption of Rs2 million in the park’s account.