RAHIM YAR KHAN: Dozens of students of the Sheikh Zayed Nursing College (SZNC) refused to perform duties during the coronavirus emergency and held a protest against the Shaikh Zayed Medical College Hospital (SZMCH) administration for forcing them to perform duty in the hospital without taking any precautionary measures in their hostel to save them from the virus.

More than 60 nursing students gathered in front of their hostel, holding banners and placards and chanted slogans against the SZMCH administration. They said that according to the directions in the letter, dated 13-03-2020, issued by the SZMCH principal, all the hostels should have been vacated immediately but they were still being forced to stay in the hostel. They complained they were also forced to perform duties with other staff nurses despite being students.

The protesters alleged that during their protest, Deputy Medical Superintendent Ilyas Ahmed with security guards misbehaved with them.

Some students, requesting anonymity, said they had requested the SZNC principal not to keep them to remain in the hostel but to no avail.

Hold protest against hospital administration

When contacted, SZMCH focal person Rana Ilyas Ahmed told Dawn the Punjab DG nursing had issued a letter, saying the student nurses would perform duties in hospital due to coronavirus emergency. He said there was an acute shortage of nurses at the SZMCH and its administration had requested the secretary Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education to fill the seats but to no avail. Some nurses were transferred during the last couple of weeks to Khanpur and Liaqatpur hospitals from the SZMCH, Mr Ahmed added.

He said he did not misbehave with any student nurse but he stopped them from making videos on their mobile phones.

WILDLIFE PROBE: The Bahawalpur commissioner has constituted an inquiry committee to probe into the illegal hunting in Cholistan allegedly by Rahim Yar Khan Deputy Commissioner Ali Shehzad along with some influential business personalities.

An order, dated March 16, 2020 released from the commissioner office, said it had come to knowledge of the office that the DC had indulged in illegal hunting in the desert area of the Rahim Yar Khan district and hunted deer and birds. The wildlife officials tried to stop his vehicle but his driver hit their vehicle and managed to escape. In this way, the officer was found guilty of misconduct and violation of wildlife laws.

The letter said District Officer (wildlife) Asim Kamran while performing his duties traced illegal hunting of deer and birds by the DC and posted old pictures and videos of the incident and shared with news channels, which got viral on social media, bringing bad name to the government. The wildlife officer has added pictures of some other events and tried to connect this incident with an incident of the past, to defame the integrity of the DC RYK, it alleged.

An inquiry committee, comprising Cholistan Development Authority Bahawalpur MD Rana Muhammad Saleem and Additional Commissioner Bahawalpur division Muhammad Tanveer Jhandir, has been tasked with probing the matter and submitting the findings along with recommendations.

Published in Dawn, March 18th, 2020