Members of the provincial assembly from Southern Punjab have protested against the rejection of their resolution regarding upgradation of Nishtar Medical College as Health University to facilitate students of the region, who wanted to qualify for post-graduation studies. In a joint statement, Dr Javed Siddiqui, Syed Nazim Shah, Malik Arshad Raan of PPP and Nafees Ahmed Ansari of PML-N said that higher education was a right of the people of southern zone of the province.

It was unfair and prejudice that a resolution regarding upgradation of Nishtar Medical College was rejected by the assembly.

They said King Edward Medical College was upgraded as university but the Punjab government was reluctant to apply the same justification in Multan.

They also demanded addition of another 1000 beds in the hospital because it was providing health facilities to the people of Kashmore, Jacobabad (Sindh), Kohlu, Rukni, Loralai of Balochistan, Bhakkar, Mianwali districts of Sargodha division, besides providing healthcare to two divisions of Multan and Dera Ghazi Khan.

They vehemently condemned the commercialisation of health facilities aimed at depriving the poor of free treatment.

They said admission fee, slip, X-ray, CT scan, ultrasonography, dental removal, filling of teeth fee were being charged from patients. Similarly, testing laboratory fee was being charged according to market rates.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2005