MULTAN, Oct 15: The City District Government Multan will provide funds to the Pakistan Railways to convert the City Railway Station building into a hospital.

This was stated by District Nazim Mian Faisal Mukhtar after he met Multan division Divisional Superintendent Saeed Akhtar in his office here on Sunday.

The district nazim also talked about a plan with the DS for the repair and beautifying roads along the railway line within the city limits.

The DS informed the district nazim that the double track from Multan to Lahore would decrease the distance from five to four hours in the first phase and three hours in the second phase when the speed of trains would be increased to 160km per hour. He said the speed of trains in first phase would be 140km per hour.

He further said that only four percent passengers were traveling by trains while the present government wanted to increase this ratio to 25 percent.

Mr Akhtar told the district nazim that the railway track from Lahore to Rawalpindi and onward to Peshawar would also be doubled in two phases.

He said the Pakistan Railways was considering the commercial use of its property on Purana Bahawalpur Road. He said the construction of a five star hotel and a commercial plaza was under consideration there.

SHOT DEAD: A trader was killed by dacoits here on Monday.

Two dacoits came to the shop of Mansha, a wholesale dealer of shoes at Haram Gate, on Saturday night and snatched Rs800,000 at gunpoint from him and escaped on foot. Mansha and his three employees Naveed, Zubair and Naved Ali chased them. The dacoits opened fire on them. They were injured and taken to hospital where Mansha died.

Haram Gate police have registered a case.

Mansha was president of the Anjuman Tajran. Traders observed a strike on Sunday to protest the killing and said they would continue their protest till the arrest of the dacoits.

Mian Shaukat Ali Naqshbandi, President Anjuman Tajran, Southern Punjab, has condemned the incident and said that dacoities are on the rise in Multan.

KILLED: A man was killed for Rs400 in Kabirwala on Sunday.

According to reports, tube-well operator Haq Nawaz, a resident of Kotla Saeed Kabir, had borrowed Rs400 from Ishfaq Rawn who was demanding his money for sometime.

On Sunday, Ishfaq demanded his money again and on refusal he started beating Haq Nawaz who was injured and rushed to hospital. He died later.

Kabirwala Saddar police have registered a case.