Chemists protest against TMA over poor drainage

BAHAWALPUR:

Chemists Association of Bahawal Victoria Hospital on Thursday protested against the town municipal authority over poor drainage in front of medical stores near the hospital.

The protesters blocked Circular Road for six hours and chanted slogans against the TMA for failing to clear water accumulated around the medical stores after it rained last week. They shut down their shops and staged a sit-in in front of the TMA office.

Talking to newsmen, Chemists Association President Chaudhry Shahid Hassan said the TMA had made no arrangements for managing drainage in front of the Bahawal Victoria Hospital.

“Last week, after it rained for several hours, water accumulated in front of medical stores, making it difficult for customers to access them,” he said. “This is not the first time this has happened,” he said. “Mostly those running medical stores clear the drains themselves. We have complained about this to district authorities several times but the sewerage system was not improved.”

He urged the DCO to take notice of TMA’s incompetence.

“Medical stores pay billions of rupees in taxes,” he said. “The least the government can do is drain the water,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 19^th, 2015.