KARACHI, Oct 10 Hopes for the start of first academic session at the Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Medical College are fading with the resignation of its principal and a lack of mention of the college in the recently announced admission policy for all medical colleges of Sindh.

Professor Iqbal Memon was the second college principal who tendered his resignation, as earlier in May Prof Hasan Dost Afridi had quit the post for “personal reasons”.

The resignation came as another setback to the college located in Lyari following the announcement of government policy regarding admissions to medical colleges in Sindh without mention of seats being offered at the Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Medical College.

Although the college had been touted as a “gift for the Lyariites” from President Asif Ali Zardari in recognition of their sacrifices for the restoration of democracy in the country, the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council, Islamabad, has not yet issued an NOC for the medical college.

Besides, bureaucratic hurdles were being faced in the approval of a couple of summaries sent to the chief minister a few months ago, sources said.

The college's establishment was supposed to be completed in a short span of time as the infrastructure required for a medical college was available on the Lyari General Hospital premises. The government had decided to start academic activities for the time being at the hospital building and later shift the college to a new structure to be built on the hospital premises.

A total of Rs50 million had been spent on the rehabilitation of the LGH building to ensure proper education, training and health facilities for a large number of stakeholders. Arrangements were swiftly made to accommodate the first batch of students in the Ayaz Sammo Nursing School, which was established within the hospital vicinity in 1989.

It was earlier suggested to the authorities concerned that the medical college, once made functional, be integrated with the hospital and the nursing institute so that the whole compound took the shape of a medical complex.

Besides, it was proposed that by upgrading the existing facilities and services, the institution be made a university named after Benazir Bhutto.

When the planning and initial phase of construction was over, applications for enrolment of the first batch were called with an announcement that the academic session would begin in September 2010.

However, the process of equipping the college with staff and essential facilities came to a grinding halt a few months back, because a summary for the release of Rs100 million could not get through the finance department.

In a last-ditch effort to get the process resumed and ensure the launch of the medical college this year, two summaries had been moved to the chief minister for approval.

One of the summaries pertained to the hiring of faculty while the other related to the procurement of medical equipment, fixtures, furniture and generators.

People associated with the project had apprehensions that if the summaries were not approved immediately, it would not be possible to start the session in October or even by the end of this year.

Students willing to get admission in the college are disturbed by the delays hitting the academic process. Coming from the lower and lower-middle class, they fear that any disruption causing postponement of the launch of the college by one year or more would ultimately cost them their precious year.

Meanwhile, attempts to remove encroachment around the hospital premises were also facing hurdles.

Although the authorities concerned wanted to evict encroachers from the government land to ensure free access to the hospital building, the occupants who had been operating their warehouses or workshops for long had their political influence as well.