Mill caught pilfering gas

RAWALPINDI, May 8: Sui Northern Gas Pipelines (SNGPL) Islamabad region on Tuesday claimed that it had caught a Hassanabdal textile mill pilfering huge volume of gas.

Spokesman for SNGPL Islamabad region Shahid Akram said the theft of the gas was detected by the authorities after they found the gas meter of Margalla Textile Mills tampered with. During investigation, gas worth more than Rs64,200,000 was found stolen.

He claimed when the SNGPL’s team was busy doing its job, the mills management harassed its members.

However, a complaint was lodged with the City Police Station, Hassanabdal, by the SNGPL authorities who also sought police help for disconnecting the tampered gas meter, the spokesman said.— Staff Reporter

Two businessmen looted

RAWALPINDI, May 8: A factory owner was robbed of Rs226,000 by four gunmen in Pirwadhai while a drug store owner was deprived of Rs80,000 by four robbers in Satellite Town, police said on Tuesday.

In the first incident, Zahoor Ahmad was on way to his factory when was intercepted by four unidentified motorbike riders who forced him to stop his car on gunpoint. The gunmen snatched the cash bag and escaped from the scene.

In the other incident, four robbers entered a drug store in Satellite Town and held its owner Ikhlaq Ahmad hostage on gunpoint. The gunmen who were in their 30s took Rs80,000 from the cash counter and escaped from the scene.

The respective police registered separate cases and started investigation.

Meanwhile, a motorcyclist was killed after being hit by a dumper at Cheering Cross on Peshawar Road, the police said.

Fahim Haider, 30, was going on his motorcycle when was hit by a recklessly driven dumper at a U-turn on Peshawar Road. As a result, he sustained serious injuries and died on the spot while the dumper driver escaped from the scene. Later, the vehicle was impounded by the Westridge police and search for its driver was launched.— Staff Reporter

Ukrainian embassy

ISLAMABAD, May 8: The Ukrainian embassy has set up polling station for the elections of its parliament.

It has advised its nationals to cast their votes in polling station number 900066 at house No 4, street No 5, F-7/3, Islamabad. It has also advised them to contact the embassy in case of any query and help regarding the polling of votes, says a press release.

Protest against power outages

TAXILA, May 8:  Residents of various localities of the city blocked traffic on G.T. Road on Tuesday for more than an hour in protest against excessive electricity load shedding.

They protesters were of the view that the unabated and unscheduled power outages had crippled the commercial activities and it had become very difficult for them to earn livelihood for their families.

The people went on rampage as they burnt tyres on the G. T. Road and put the traffic out of gear for more than an hour at about 4pm. Carrying placards, banners, sticks and clubs, the demonstrators gathered near the Taxila Bridge. They were chanting slogans against the government and wapda.

On getting information, a heavy contingent of police reached there and some officials held negotiations with the protesters. On assurance that their grievances would be conveyed to the authorities concerned, the protesters dispersed peacefully.— Correspondent

Bank manager seeks transfer

ATTOCK, May 8:  The trauma of being kidnapped continues to revisit the manager of   the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), Mukhad branch, as he has refused to resume his duties and sought transfer to some better and safer place.

Mukhad, a bordering area with Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, is just a few kilometers off tribal areas, a safe haven for kidnappers and other criminals.

The bank manager, Irfan Khattak, was kidnapped on May 1 and released on May after his family paid Rs1.3 million ransom.

The regional NBP chief, Shahjehan Khan, when contacted, confirmed that Mr Irfan had applied for his transfer from Mukhad branch.  He said the administration would not force him to work there anymore as they knew his mental condition. — Correspondent

HSSC-II exam starts

RAWALPINDI, May 8: The Higher Secondary School Certificate part-II (HSSC-II) examination-2012 started on Tuesday at 189 centres simultaneously under the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE), Rawalpindi.

As many as 62,300 male and female students appeared in the examination.

BISE Controller of Examinations Professor Humayun Iqbal said that over 1,600 teaching staff had been deployed at these centers for the smooth conduct of the examination.

He said section-144 had been imposed in and around the examination centres to avoid any untoward activity there.

He said that special inspection teams would pay surprise visits to the centres to check the activities of booti mafia so that all the process could be completed in a fair and transparent manner. — APP

30 encroachers fined   RAWALPINDI, May 8: The anti-encroachment staff of the Rawal Town Municipal Administration (RTMA) on Tuesday imposed fine of Rs30,000 on 30 shopkeepers and razed an illegally-constructed shop.

The RTMA spokesman told Dawn that the anti-encroachment staff visited Raja Bazaar, Jamia Masjid Road, Banni Chowk, Commercial Market, Benazir Bhutto Road, Sadiqabad and Liaquat Road and found that some shopkeepers and push cart holders had established their stalls on the footpaths and at the roadsides squeezing the original size of the roads. They seized the push carts and goods of the shopkeepers which they had displayed in front of their shops.

He said that the RTMA staff also razed a shop at Madina Market, Raja Bazaar as the owner constructed it without getting approval from the civic body.

He said that the Rawal Town Administrator Saif Anwar Jappa directed the staff to remove the encroachments from the main roads and streets for smooth flow of traffic. He said that the administrator would take stern action against those officials who failed to fulfill their duty while removing the obstacles from the roads. — A Reporter