LARKANA: Caretaker Sindh Minister for Law and Human Rights Umar Soomro disclosed on Monday that doctors posted at the RBUT Civil Hospital in Shikarpur were regularly drawing salaries while remaining out of the country.

Addressing the Shikarpur District Bar Association (DBA), the minister said it was quite surprising that a vaccinator was heading the medicine store in the healthcare facility.

He asked lawyers to visit hospitals and grounds to witness thesituation there. When the officers concerned came out with concrete and strict steps, they were more often approached with the idea of being soft on the matter of removing pictures, posters and boards of politicians hanged or placed at the government properties.

Stating that the former Sindh High Court chief justice had not focused on the bars, he expressed the hope that the sitting CJ would take along the lawyers` community.

Announcing a Rs100 million grant for the Sindh Bar Council, he said the caretaker government would extend all possible financial help tobar associations in the province.

The DBA would get a Rs4 million grant, he said and held out an assurance to fund the bar`s library.

The law minister held a meeting with the traders in Jacobabad on Monday and heard their grievances in the presence of Deputy Commissioner Dad10 Zuhrani and assistant commissioners.

Briefing the minister, the trade leaders alleged that the anti-theft electricity campaign launched by Sepco targeted the poor at the cost of sparing influential people.

The performance of Sepco in Shikarpur andJacobabad was almost zero, they alleged, adding that on the pretext of power theft, the duration of power outage had been extended up to 15 hours.

The unscheduled and unannounced power outages had multiplied peoples` problems, said trade leader Ahmed Ali Brohi.

The minister said the caretaker Sindh cabinet was working without any pressure and restoration of the law and order was its responsibility.

He said the deputy commissioner and SSP Jacobabad would hold an open katchehri next week tolisten to the grievances of the people and resolve them.