PUNJAB Chief Minister Ch Pervez Elahi, who proceeded to London on a private visit, directed authorities concerned from the British capital to launch a crack-down against price-hike.
Addressing a meeting of the Price Control Committees, he warned that the performance of the Assistant Commissioners would be judged by their ability to take effective measures against those behind artificial price-hike.
No doubt, this reflects the concern of the Chief Minister over the plight of the people and his decision to revive the magistracy system in the province would surely go a long way to check prices.
However, we would draw attention of the Chief Minister to the twin-menaces of kidnapping of children and dengue fever that have plagued the province for several weeks.
The crime rate in Punjab has assumed alarming proportions and nowadays children are kidnapped in broad daylight on an almost daily basis in parts of the province and most importantly in the Rawalpindi district.
According to reports, dead bodies of three kidnapped children were found in hilly areas of the district and the spree of kidnapping has forced families to keep their children indoors and they now feel reluctant to send them to schools.
The worst aspect of the entire episode is that so far there are no visible measures on the part of the police and the local administration to discourage kidnappings or boost confidence of the citizens and people are left to ensure their safety and security on their own.
Similarly, hundreds of dengue patients are being admitted in hospitals on a daily basis but preventive measures are not in sight.
Some years back, the wave of dengue fever was effectively reversed through fumigation, spray and other preventive measures but now the health department and local administrations have confined themselves to holding meetings and carrying out surveys only.
Punjab is effectively under attack by kidnappers and dengue fever and the situation is likely to worsen during the coming days when attention of the police and the administration would be focused on political events like the proposed long march.
The Chief Minister may take personal interest to restore the shattered confidence of the people.
