BAHAWALPUR: An inquiry team, under Assistant Commissioner Rao Tasleem Akhtar, will probe into the factors leading to the death of animals and birds at the local zoo.

Commissioner Saqib Zafar ordered the inquiry during his inspection of the zoo on Monday, according to an official handout.

The committee will probe into the mortality of the animals and birds from January to August this year, and submit its report in a week. The handout does not mention the number of animals and birds died in the period.

He also reviewed cages’ sanitation and zoo’s sewerage system and ordered better medical facilities for animals and birds. He said the attendance of zoo employees should be ensured.

AWARDS: Minister of State for Education, Professional Training and Interior Affairs Baleeghur Rehman distributed awards on Monday among the students of the Islamia University, Bahawalpur (IUB).

The awards were to be dished out in January last at the university convocation, but due to non-availability of the awards then, the recipients could not get them.

The minister said the government viewed it workable that all districts have independent universities or sub-campuses so that higher education could be extended to people at their doorsteps.

He said the federal government had approved a Rs860 million grant for the IUB projects.

He said the annual budget of the Higher Education Commission had been increased by the government from Rs41 billion to 91 billion and 125 acres had been acquired to set up the campus of the Government Sadiq Women University, Bahawalpur. He added the work on the Veterinary University in Bahawalpur had also been expedited.

STRIKE: On the call of the Pakistan Bar Council, district and high court bar associations observed a strike on Monday to condemn the Quetta bomb blast and government’s failure to arrest its culprits.

Judges adjourned the cases after the lawyers stayed away from courts. Litigants and lawyers’ clients coming from far flung areas faced inconvenience due to the adjournment of cases.

RAID: Health teams during its anti-adulteration campaign sealed five factories on Monday. The factories were manufacturing butter, biscuits, pastries and other edibles in the city.

The samples of these items were sent to labs for chemical examination.

Published in Dawn, August 23rd, 2016