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City to have two more cardiac hospitals

KARACHI: The city would get two new cardiac hospitals within the next two months, announced the City Nazim and Karachi Institute of Heart Diseases (KIHD) Chairman Mustafa Kamal.

Presiding over the 5th KIHD governing body meeting held at the institute, Kamal said that the City District Government Karachi (CDGK) has completed 80 percent of work on the cardiac hospitals and they would operational within two months time. "Many cardiac patients lose their lives on the way to hospitals located far away from their homes. The new cardiac hospitals will provide out patient department and in-patient department facilities to the residents of Shah Faisal Town and Landhi Town so that cardiac patients can get emergency facilities close to their homes," said Kamal.

Kamal constituted the executive committee, planning and development committee, monitoring and implementing committee and academic committee, to look after hospitals and oversee that they function smoothly. KIHD Executive Director Prof Abdus Samad presented a detailed report on KIHD activities while the audit report was also submitted for approval, which was approved by the governing body.

The future of KIHD employees was also discussed as all of them were hired on contractual basis. In this regard, member Dr Waqar Kazmi suggested that a committee should be formed to evaluate employees for fresh contracts as well as renewal of contracts. A committee comprising of CDGK Health Group Offices Executive District Officer (EDO) Dr A D Sanjnani, KIHD Executive Director Prof Abdus Samad, KIHD general body member Abdul Haseeb Khan, KIHD Prof Ishaque, Dr Ashraf Siddiqui, KIHD member Dr Nasir Javed and Dr Haroon Imtiaz, was constituted in this regard.

Kamal also approved a budget of Rs 179.30 million for the year 2009 to 2010 for the KIHD. The meeting also approved a nursing institute at the KIHD for which PC-I has already been prepared, however, encroachers have illegally occupied the land allocated for the institute due to which the project could not take off. District Coordination Officer (DCO) Karachi Muhammad Javed Hanif Khan has been assigned to clear the encroached land.

The governing body decided that KIHD would be declared a teaching institute and would be affiliated to KMDC. It was also decided that remuneration given to the professors and associate professors would be Rs 100,000 and Rs 75,000 respectively, on the lines of the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.

Kamal issued directives for termination of KIHD employees who have failed to serve satisfactorily and are absent without prior permission from the institution.

Talking to Daily Times, Dr Sanjnani said, "Initially the two cardiac hospitals would have a ten bed emergency unit each while there would be a 25-bed facility in-patient departments in each hospital. Gradually, this would be improved upto 50-bed facility at each hospital." Daily Times

Safari Pak-EPA rejects Garden Avenue dualisation project

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Environment Protection Agency (Pak-EPA) on Saturday rejected a Capital Development Authority (CDA) project that envisaged the dualisation of Garden Avenue.

The Pak-EPA rejected the project on environmental grounds. Under the IEE/EIA Regulations, 2000, the CDA submitted an initial environmental examination (IEE) report of the project to the Pak-EPA for the approval.

The CDA stated in the IEE that it was planning to dualise the Garden Avenue that starts from I-8 roundabout and joins the Murree Road while passing through stadium, Lok Virsa and the National History Museum.

The proposed dualisation project envisaged 300 feet wide road consisting of dual carriageway. The CDA stated in the IEE that during the execution of the project 900 trees would be cut down.

The Pak-EPA stated in its letter to the CDA that the dualisation of the Garden Avenue was not justified, as presently the traffic volume on the road was low.

The agency also said that due to the dualisation of the road, the green cover would further diminish, which had already decreased due to recent development in Islamabad. The Pak-EPA said that the project was located in the ecologically sensitive area, which was a part of the Margalla Hills National Park, where all commercial activities were banned.

The Pak-EPA refused to approve the project under the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act, 1997. However, the agency suggested that if the project was essential, the CDA might consider widening of the existing single road by only 10 feet - 5 feet on each side - subject to the condition that only the existing shoulders may be constructed along the alignment.

Pak-EPA Monitoring Director Ziaul Islam told Daily Times that the decision was taken after careful assessment of the IEE submitted by the CDA. He said that Pak-EPA Director General Asif Shuja Khan visited the sight and conducted a through monitoring of the area.

Islam said that it was concluded during the monitoring that the dualisation would increase traffic volume in the area. He also said that since the CDA had already constructed Zero Point Interchange and dualised a number of roads in the capital, there was no need of dualisation of the Garden Avenue.

He said that the road projects irreparably damaged the flora and fauna of the area. He said that increased traffic on the Pir Sohawa Road was causing environment degradation. He said that along damage to vegetation, the wild life of the area was under threat, and species of birds were migrating from the area.

He also mentioned that the recent chopping of trees and vegetation at Parade Ground adjacent to the proposed project had already damaged the flora and fauna of the area.

No environment impact assessment was ever conducted for the Parade Ground project, where reportedly hundreds of trees and vegetations were removed from acres of land. Daily Times

LDA razes illegal shops in Lahore

LAHORE: The Lahore Development Authority's Town Planning Department has demolished the several illegal buildings in the Gujjar Pura Scheme. According to a press release, the seven shops constructed on the plot No 442-B/2 while four other shops situated on the plot No 141-B/2 and 19-B/3 were demolished. The Post

RDA declares Lake Vista Housing Scheme illegal

RAWALPINDI: Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) has declared Lake Vista Housing Scheme fake and submitted an application against the scheme owner in National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

Nauman Dahir, RDA spokesman, said Lake Vista Housing Scheme was located under the jurisdiction of RDA but it illegally got approval from Potohar Town. He said the RDA had not allowed the scheme owner to carry out development work.

Dahir said the authority had also taken notice of illegal issuance of plots by the University Town Housing Scheme located in Mauza Bajnal near motorway.

He clarified that total approved area of the scheme was 1,624 kanals and 20 percent area was mortgaged. He said the scheme had a total of 1,867 residential and 316 commercial plots and the scheme administration was not allowed to sell plots at mortgaged area.

He asked the people to be aware of illegal housing societies and avoid investing in such schemes. Daily Times

Gulberg Town administration in hot water : �Controlling illegal commercialisatio

* Inspector says task could not be completed owing to public pressure

* TMO and town officer say administration determined to eliminate illegal commercialisation

LAHORE: Gulberg Town administration inspectors and officials concerned have said that it is difficult to completely eliminate illegal commercialisation and encroachments without the support of the government and various departments concerned, including law enforcement agencies.

The officials said that the administration had been facing pressure from residents and owners of buildings, due to which it could not demolish encroached areas and arrest those involved in building commercial outlets at residences.

Not facilities: A senior inspector said that the town administration had announced the operation during the previous fiscal year, and that their teams had raided various markets and residential areas to demolish encroached parts, but could not do anything owing to public’s opposition and lack of facilities. "We neither have enough machinery to demolish the structures, nor have sufficient support of law enforcement agencies," he said.

Quoting an incident in Model Colony, he said that a team of town inspectors, equipped with small machinery to demolish illegal extensions outside various houses, had gone to the colony a few months ago, but had to face a fierce reaction from the residents who attacked the team and forced them to leave the place. "We had two policemen with us, but the residents came out of their houses and threatened us with torture for staying there," the inspector said. He said that the team had reported the incident to senior officials, who had pledged to take action against the residents, but the seniors could not do anything. "Following the incident, hundreds of residents flocked and protested outside the Gulberg Town administration office, after which the seniors had to step back to avoid more severe reaction from the public," he added.

The inspector said that hundreds of offices of local and multi-national companies were situated in residential areas of Gulberg Town. He said that most people with political affiliation and connections with powerful institutions were involved in such violations. Another inspector said that encroachers became even more powerful by joining hands. "They help each other out whenever they face any threat of action against them," he added.

Referring to the mini-food market along the Liberty Mosque, he said that most of those shops were built illegally. "Their massive encroachment has destroyed a section of the Liberty Park, as the shopkeepers serve their customers inside the park," he said, adding that the town inspectors had tried to remove the encroachments, but had to step back owing to the owners’ pressure. He said that people had set up food outlets, showrooms and boutiques at their houses, but the town administration could not even touch them without the government’s support.

Determined, but alone: Town Municipal Officer (TMO) Malik Muzaffar Awan and Gulberg Town Officer Saleem Jahangir said that the town administration was determined to eliminate illegal commercialisation and encroachments from the area. They said that support from higher authorities, especially the government, could boost up their performance.

Saleem Jahangir said that the town inspectors had registered FIRs (first information reports) against 160 people for conducting illegal commercial activities during the last year. He said that a number of people had also faced action for encroaching public property in markets and residential areas.

Muzaffar Awan said that the administration had continued the operation against violators throughout the year. He said that illegal commercialisation had increased in Gulberg Town because everyone wanted to set up offices there, as it was the most suitable commercial zone for national and international companies. "The administration is determined to control the phenomenon, and is planning to allocate a significant amount in its upcoming town budget to take action against illegal commercialisation and encroachments," he added.

CM vows to get tough with Qabza mafia

LAHORE: CHIEF Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif has said that he was not a ruler but a servant of masses and he would ensure justice for them.

Addressing an open court in Model Town Secretariat, he said the PML-N government would treat every citizen equally and the Qabza mafia would be eliminated.

Earlier, he listened to grievances of people including women and elderly in the open court and issued on the spot directions and also sought reports from departments concerned on many applications at the same time.

Most of the complaints the CM received were against illegal occupation on plots and lands, kidnapping, murder and torture on women.

The CM asked the complainants to keep him updated about the solution of their grievances. He assured the complainants that he would himself monitor their applications and if he found any negligent officer, he would take strict actions against him.

The chief minister said he would ensure proper respect and honour of women in the society. He was of the view that those responsible for torturing and humiliating women would be made an example.

He said they would bring everyone to the book no matter how influential he may be. He assured the people that he would ensure justice for poor and needy and would work day and night.

The CM who remained present in the open court for more than two hours received application from the people who reached there from different parts of the province.

Meanwhile, Shahbaz Sharif on Sunday condemned the bomb explosion in in Islamabad and expressed his grief over the loss of precious lives including nine policemen. He directed the provincial Secretary Health to provide all possible medical facilities and doctors to Islamabad authorities for treatment of injured.

He said that teams of specialist doctors carrying medicines and other necessary medical equipment should be sent to Islamabad from Rawalpindi without any delay.

He said that the relatives of the injured should not face any difficulty in getting medicines or blood transfusions. The CM directed Home Secretary and the IGP to arrange immediate contacts with heirs of martyrs and injured and it should be ensured that the heirs of martyrs and relatives of injured should not feel that they were left in the lurch.

Mian Shahbaz Sharif has also directed Rawalpindi administration to take effective steps for early recovery of injured by utilising all human resources.

Road development projects need better traffic management

Rawalpindi: While work on widening the roads of the sister cities is going on in full swing and will hopefully bring about a smooth flow of traffic, these days, it is a nightmare to commute to and from Rawalpindi. Those who do it on a daily basis because of their livelihood deserve sympathy and understanding if they are grouchy or bad tempered with their colleagues at the workplace.

In Pindi, the area where the flyover is being constructed turns into a lake as soon as there is even a modicum of rain, and vehicles have to pass through this sheet of water very carefully that slows down the traffic, as you never know if your wheel is going to get stuck into a pothole, so you follow the car ahead to remain safe!

As each portion of the road is developed, traffic is diverted to other parts that have already been semi-completed, or in some cases the old portions, so the route changes every few days. The company undertaking the work puts up thin poles with plastic ribbons as a precautionary measure and these are often seen lying on the road, knocked down by impatient drivers, so at night you have to make a guess which way to go if there is no car ahead to follow.

After Saturday’s heavy rain, there was a mammoth traffic jam near the railway bridge because all pole barriers had been knocked down and vehicles were coming every way to get ahead of others. Heavy braking caused many small bumps and crashes resulting in owners jumping down to fight it out over who was right and who was wrong, causing further confusion. In some places, vehicles had gone into ruts and were being pushed out, or had slipped over the slope and were resting precariously on the side with shamefaced owners standing helplessly.

In instances like this, no one is willing to get down and help, and because of so many vehicles, official help with towing equipment is impossible. The traffic wardens are helpless in situations such as this because no one listens to them - there would have to be a regiment of them present to make any difference!

Better traffic management will solve the problem at least by 70-80 per cent, while the concrete blocks, which were removed from the original road, need to be used instead of the flimsy poles and plastic ribbons. They needn’t be joined together but placed a few feet apart, making sure that a small car cannot get through, as these are the worst in causing traffic jams because they squeeze through the smallest spaces available and you have to let them into the line or risk an accident. Since the work being carried on will take some time to complete, these measures are a must to ensure a smooth flow of traffic in the days to come.

Islamabad is slightly better in traffic management but after the U-turn near the flyover, the authorities have allowed two-way traffic on a narrow road, which leads to Faisal Mosque. There was a real traffic mess there on Saturday after a bus got stuck in the gooey slush. Vehicles had to bypass the bus travelling over mounds of wet mud, slithering, sliding and trying to avoid damage to themselves and others. An ITP person was present who managed the situation as best as he could, and surprisingly, the drivers obeyed his signals. It shows that they have some authority and they use it. As for going by the highway that is now being turned into an expressway, it is torturous to use it due to the long lines of vehicles on both sides. They need to stop heavy traffic from plying during the day.

There is going to be more heavy rains in the days to come, so these problems need to be taken care of before there is a fatal accident or more, or someone gets the idea of suing the city administration for lack of responsibility.

�I heard a bang... then the building started sinking�

Karachi: Sixty-six-year-old Sawab Gul was one of the residents of the ill-fated house in Baldia Town which collapsed early Sunday morning. At least 10 people were killed, and 15 were reported to be injured in the incident.

Gul told The News that his two young sons, 14-year-old Shafi Ullah and 15-year-old Tafseer Ullah, were sleeping and could not leave the house when it collapsed. "I just heard a bang and before I could comprehend anything, the building started sinking," Gul said. Authorities recovered the brothers’ bodies at 10:00am. Gul identified them. The boys were taken to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital (ASH) around noon, but the family took the bodies back for the funeral without a post-mortem.

Gul’s daughter-in-law, 24-year-old Subhana, also died when the house collapsed, while Gul himself, his wife Gul Zaib, daughters Shahnaz and Sarfarzana, sons Saif Ullah and Zahid Ullah and another daughter-in-law were injured. "I have no regrets. I believe in the Almighty. I have accepted my loss because it was a test from the Almighty," he said.

Along with the other injured people, Gul’s family was shifted to the Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK), but they returned to the area early in the morning after the administration of first-aid.

Kaki Khan, the owner of the house, was in trauma following the incident. He went home after getting medical treatment but was not in a condition to talk to journalists. His son, M. Ibrahim, sustained leg injuries.

Khan’s relatives said that both of Ibrahim’s legs were fractured. He worked as a mechanic in a private workshop. Khan’s other son, Ghaffar, studied in class 8. Both boys were asleep on the second floor when the building collapsed.

The CHK told The News that six bodies, and 11 injured people were brought to the hospital. The dead were identified as 20-year-old Shan, two-year-old Haris, 70-year-old Mah Gul, 15-year-old Bahram Shahzada, 20-year-old Subhana (whose family said she was 24), 22-year-old Ghaffar, eight-year-old Saeed Murtaza, and 17-year-old Mushtaq.

Those wounded in the incident included Sumera, Shahnaz, M. Amin, Saif Ullah, Zahid Ullah, Sawab Gul, Gul Zaib, Anar Bibi, Maqsood, Shafique, Tehseen, Shehnaz Begam, Sarfaraz, Qadir, M. Ibrahim Kaki, and Hussain Wali.

"The water from the underground tank of the house under construction (adjacent to Kaki Khan’s house) flooded Kaki’s house and damaged the columns and the foundations of the house," Shahbaz, a neighbour who works at a local catering centre, said. He added that when Khan’s house started collapsing, the back portion of the house fell on the empty, under-construction house too.

Wali Muhammad, a relative of Sawab Gul’s, said that rescue work was badly affected due to the narrow lanes in the colony. Muhammad, a salesman by profession and a resident of Baldia Sector 5-1/2, added that the authorities had asked one of the neighbours to allow their staff to demolish one of his rooms for the tractors and trucks to move easily to the affected site. The neighbour however refused, due to which the pace of relief work slowed down considerably.

Muhammad alleged that if the neighbour had helped officials, more lives could have been saved.

MNA Khwaja Sohail Mansoor and MPA Hanif Shaikh from the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) also visited the area and monitored relief work.

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�Paradise Package� illegal: KBCA

Karachi Building Control Authority (KBCA) has declared the project “Paradise Package” illegitimate and has warned the general public not to be engaged in the trading of the said project. In a press statement issued here on Saturday, KBCA has disclosed that the said project built on Plot No FL-4 in Surjani Town’s sector 4-A is illegal. According to the details, in 1996 and 2000, the NOC for the same plot was obtained in the name of “Shahkar Avenue.” Now, M/S Atlas Builders and Developers have started booking shops and residential flats of the project with a new name Paradise Package. Since this is an open violation of the building control laws, the authority has asked the concerned builders for an explanation. Meanwhile on the directives of the Chief Controller of Buildings (CCOB), Manzoor Qadir, the KBCA demolition squad has razed illegal constructions in various localities of the city. In Gulshan-e-Iqbal town, the squad pulled down the ceiling and RCC Columns of the third floor on Plot No 207, Bahadurabad Jung, CHS Block 3, KCHS while demolished rooms in Plots No C-41 and C-64, Block 15, Gulistan-e-Jauhar. In Jamshed Town, un authorused construction on Plot No 26-U, Plot No 26-O and Plot No 2-F in PECHS Block 2 has been razed. The team has also razed the second floor roof on Plot No 27, Bahar Colony and the illegal shop built on the ground floor in Plot No195/2-E, Garden East.