ABBOTTABAD: The traffic police have introduced two seven-hour work shifts for personnel here.

Deputy inspector general of police, Hazara division, Qazi Jamilur Rehman inaugurated launched the initiative during a special ceremony at the Abbottabad Police Club.

Abbottabad SP (traffic) Tariq Mehmood Khan said the traffic police were overburdened with work and had little time for family as their duty hours lasted from 7am to 9pm daily, so seven-hour work shifts had been introduced to their relief.

He said from now onwards, the personnel of traffic police would work in two shifts, one lasting from 7am to 2pm and the other from 2pm to 9pm.

The SP said eight VIP points had been abolished to ease the pressure of traffic, especially during the fasting month of Ramazan.

The DIG appreciated the initiative and said it would help the traffic cops perform duty in a better manner.

Meanwhile, the DIG met local traders and praised them for following the business SOPs formulated by the government in light of the coronavirus emergency.

Accompanied by DPO Javed Iqbal and other senior police officials, he said any trader found to be violating SOPs would be dealt with strictly.

Mr Rehman said the cooperation of traders would help the government contain the spread of the virus for the safety of public life.

He asked traders to avoid gatherings, use face mask and glovesand ensure cleanliness in and outside their shops.

The DIG urged them to create public awareness of precautionary measures against coronavirus, especially social distancing, to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

FOUR NEW CASES: Three doctors and a police official have been diagnosed with Covid-19 in Abbottabad.

Medical director of the Ayub Teaching Hospital Dr Ahsan Aurangzeb told reporters that33 doctors, nurses and paramedics, who were quarantined afterthey performedduty in the hospital’s Covid-19 isolation wards, had tested negative for the virus.

He said the three doctors, who had been diagnosed with coronavirus, included a deputy medical superintendent and two TMOs.

Abbottabad district police officer Javed Iqbal Wazir confirmedthe detection of Covid-19 in the Dunga Gali police station’s moharrar and said the case had been quarantined in the district headquarters hospital, while samples had been taken from his colleagues for testing.

Published in Dawn, April 25th, 2020