BAHAWALPUR: Traders and some political activists on Saturday protested against the Punjab government`s move to `outsource` the Blood Transfusion Centre to a private firm of Karachi.

The traders of Machhli Bazaar joined by political workers took out at rally at Khatm-i-Nabuwatt Chowk and demanded that the government withdraw the decision to privatise the Bahawalpur blood transfusion bank which was established here about two months ago.

The demonstrators, holding placards and banners, expressed apprehension that privatisation of the service would make it difficult for the poor to benefit from it. It`s strange that the blood bank established just two months ago by the Punjab gov-ernment had been outsourced, they said and demanded that the authorities reverse the decision instead of playing with the lives of people.

TRANSFORMERS: Mepco`s Executive Engineer Khwaja Niaz Ahmed in a raid recovered five transformers from a private workshop, where they were brought for repair.

The transformers were shifted by the Mepco employees for repair to the private workshop to mint money from the consumers leaving aside the available facility of the company`s workshop which was built for the purpose at a cost of Rs30 million.

On a tip-off, the EXEN conducted a raid and caught the employees and warned them of disciplinary action.

EDUCATION: More than 13,000 students, 7,000 girls among them, are being imparted free educationat the primary level under non-formal basic education system in the district, says Punjab Minister for Literacy and Non-Formal Education Dr Farrukh Javed Ghumman while presiding over a joint meeting of the staff members of the Literacy and Non-Formal Basic Education Department of Bahawalpur and Lodhran at Circuit House on Saturday.

According to the minister, more than 4,000 women are studying in 270 non-formal adult education centres in Bahawalpur. Moreover, under this project, 85 prisoners and 17 inmates of juvenile jail are getting education in New Central Jail and Borstal Jail, respectively.

During the briefing the minister was informed that one each non-formal primary school was functioning for minorities` children and transgenders.