GUJRAT: There is only one official in the bomb disposal squad of the Gujrat civil defence department and he works without a bomb suit, the gear mandatory for the officials defusing explosive devices.

The post of the civil defence district officer had also been vacant for the last few years.

The sole technician available in the district for defusing bombs or any explosive device is Muhammad Ashraf, a retired army official, who joined the civil defence department around a decade back but since then he has been performing his duty without having any mandatory safety gear.

Ashraf defuses the explosive devices by using the ordinary pliers and wire stripping tool/cutter which means he has to put his life always in danger during his work. He works without an explosive detector also.

Ashraf has no official vehicle to reach any place in emergency as he would often use his personal motorcycle for the purpose.

However, Gujrat DPO Rai Ijaz Ahmed has recently provided a room for Muhammad Ashraf in Rescue 15 office where a television and other necessary facilities have been provided for his better coordination with police as the police motorcycle, if available, could drive him to the required position in case of any emergency.

The district government, as well as the district police, had separately recommended the safety gear besides provision of other necessary gadgets for the lone bomb disposal technician. But the district government could not purchase the bomb suit despite approval of Rs2.8m for the purpose around a year ago.

Official sources said the then Gujrat District Coordination Officer Asif Bilal Lodhi had given the approval for the purchase of a bomb suit, earmarking Rs2.8m for the purpose.

They say some people in the civil defence department with vested interests have been the major hurdle in purchase of the bomb suit because they want to receive commission in the purchase by buying locally made bomb suit than the imported suit as per international standards.

However, Gujrat District Officer Coordination Shuja Qutab Bhatti, who had initially recommended the bomb suit for the civil defence, told Dawn that since the district did not have any DO Civil Defence, the competent authority to complete the purchase process, the Gujrat DCO had repeatedly written to the authorities in the provincial government in this regard.

He said Gujranwala’s DO civil defence was holding the dual charge of Gujrat but he had taken up the matter and would ask the officials concerned of the department to produce the relevant file before him so that the matter could be pleaded before the provincial government.

Published in Dawn, November 3rd, 2014