GUJRANWALA, Feb 22: The city tehsil council razed as many as seven shops and a house on the Kashmir Colony Road during an anti-encroachment operation here on Tuesday.
Reports said a complaint was lodged with city Nazim Babu Javed Ahmad that land grabbers had constructed shops and a house on the road causing hurdles in traffic flow.
The Nazim directed the squad to remove all encroachments erected on the road. Articles of some shopkeepers which had been placed in front of their shops were also seized. Later, the special municipal judicial magistrate fined the shopkeepers after summary trial.
SMASHED: Satellite Town police claimed on Tuesday to have arrested four members of a dacoits' gang, including its ring leader, following a brief 'encounter' and recovered illicit arms and looted goods from their possession.
District Police Officer Dr Arif Mushtaq said at a briefing that the outlaws were looting passers-by near a hospital on the Jinnah Road when a police party raided there to arrest them. On seeing policemen they opened fire. In retaliation the gangsters surrendered.
They were identified as ring leader Muhammad Anwer, Mubasher Ahmad, Muhammad Shoaib and Muhammad Ishaq. Dr Mushtaq said the accused had killed Baigowala Union Council Nazim Azmatullah with the help of hitmen on Feb 2.
He said the outlaws looted dozens of people in Sialkot and Gujranwala districts and injured many on offering resistance. The DPO announced cash prize and commendation certificates to members of the raiding party.
COLLEGE OPPOSED: Provincial parliamentary secretary Zille Huma Usman opposed a plan to set up a medical college in Gujranwala, saying the project is not feasible.
Speaking at a 'meet-the press' programme here on Tuesday, she said doctors were not willing to serve even at the local district headquarters hospital, and in case the said medical college was set up, it would be hard to arrange teaching staff for the institution. However, she said that the DHQ hospital would be upgraded with the government funds of Rs100 million, released for buying modern machinery and provision of better medical facilities to patients.
She pointed out that the government had released the funds of Rs140 million for the construction of an underpass for Peoples Colony and the Home Economics College. She said the local government was responsible for delay in completion of mega projects announced by the Punjab chief minister as it could not contact the provincial government for release of funds.
WORKSHOP: A workshop to create awareness about the World Trade Organization (WTO) rules will be held at the local chamber of commerce and industry on Thursday (tomorrow) which will be participated by manufacturers, traders and exporters.
This was said by GCCI President Asad Elahi here on Tuesday. He said the WTO anti-dumping agreement provided protection to domestic industry against unfair trade practices like dumping and subsidies.
He said: "A member country can impose anti-dumping duty if it is established that a product is dumped and such dumped imports have caused material injury to the domestic industry." He said the workshop would focus the WTO anti-dumping agreement and the Anti-dumping Duties Ordinance (ADO) 2000 promulgated by Pakistan.
SUICIDE: A trader committed suicide by taking poison over a marriage issue in Garjakh here on Tuesday. Reports said Imran wanted to marry the girl of his choice but his parents refused to do so. As a result he swallowed poisonous pills and died on way to the local civil hospital.
ABDUCTED: A student of secondary school, Muhammad Ibrahim, was abducted by unidentified men in civil lines here on Tuesday.
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