LAHORE: Orphan girls staying at the Social Welfare Department facility clean the building and mow its lawns by themselves while they are also being denied proper education facilities.

The facts surfaced during a surprise visit by Chief Minister Usman Buzdar to Kashana, a facility for orphan girls in Township, on Wednesday.

The Kashana residents informed the CM that they had to clean the building themselves as there was neither any sweeper nor a gardener while teachers and governesses were also unavailable to them.

Mr Buzdar expressed his indignation at the situation and directed the officials to recruit sweepers, governesses, gardeners and teachers and send him a report.

He also visited the Social Welfare Complex and inspected various institutions set up for the betterment of destitute children and elderly people.

He showed his displeasure at poor cleanliness in the building and presence of weeds and bushes and unkempt grass on the lawns. He asked the officials to improve the cleanliness and cut grass properly.

The officials failed to give a suitable reply to the chief minister when asked about frequency of the medical check-up of abandoned and mentally-ill children there.

He gave them 10 days to improve the situation, warning of action if they failed to comply with the directions within the stipulated time. He directed Social Welfare Minister Ajmal Cheema to personally monitor the progress.

Published in Dawn, September 27th, 2018