Policemen gather outside court rooms in Lahore. — Photo by AFP

LAHORE: The Pakistan Railways told the Lahore High Court on Thursday that the Supreme Court had allowed the purchase of locomotives from a Chinese company.

The counsel stated the SC had taken a suo motu notice of the issue, however, at the end of the proceedings the court allowed the railways to purchase locomotives from the Chinese company.

About involvement of railways officials in scrap sale scandal, the counsel said the allegations had not been proved so far. He urged the court to dismiss the petition against the purchase of locomotives being non maintainable.

After hearing the railways counsel, the court directed petitioner’s counsel to file his rejoinder by next hearing on Sept 3.

Advocate Feroze Shah Gillani filed the petition, saying railways was suffering a Rs35 billion loss due to corruption of its top officials. He said the organisation put to trash 500 engines and now signed a contract of getting on lease the engines from a Chinese company.

The petitioner alleged that the company from which the locomotives were being purchased had been blacklisted in the world. He asked the court to restrain the railways from getting locomotives from the Chinese company.

CTO summoned: Hearing a petition against removal of a U-turn on Ferozepur Road in front of General Hospital, the Lahore High Court on Thursday sought personal appearance of the chief traffic officer on the next hearing.

The U-turn was shifted to some four kilometre distance to facilitate the Bus Rapid Transit System.

Earlier on Thursday, Traffic Engineering and Transport Planning Agency (Tepa) Chairman Saeed Akhtar appeared in the court and stated the BRTS was a public welfare project. He said after the completion of the project, the changes made on the roads would be restored.

Justice Nasir Saeed Sheikh, however, expressed dissatisfaction over his justification and summoned the chief traffic officer on the next hearing, Aug 1.

A resident of the area had filed a petition and submitted that the Punjab government launched BRTS project and authorities removed the U-turn in front of the hospital. He said the U-turn had been repositioned at a distance of four kilometres from the main entrance to the hospital.

The petitioner pleaded that the shifting of the U-turn would cause serious problems to visitors and patients and the ambulances in particular. He said the ambulances would have to take a long drive to reach the hospital.

He prayed that the respondent authorities should be ordered to shift the U-turn to its previous position.