Collapsed Sher Shah Bridge consultant firm blacklisted.

ISLAMABAD , July 30, 2009 (Balochistan Times) -- The Pakistan Engineering Council has blacklisted Masers Engineering Consultants International (Pvt) Limited, consultant firm of the collapsed Sher Shah Bridge, while the consultative contract of Zero Point Interchange Overhead bridge was given to it before it was banned. This was stated by the State Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Mehreen Anwar Raja while replying to questions during question hour session in the Senate here on Thursday. She said the Pakistan Engineering Council has stopped the Masers Engineering Consultants International (Pvt) Limited, consultant firm of the collapsed Sher Shah Bridge from doing consultative work on construction of roads, however, she said the firm would continue the work on contracts, which it had already been given including the Zero Point Interchange. According to her, the issue has been assigned to the concerned standing committee of senate. In reply to a question on water shortage, she said that there was no shortage of water in any sector of the capital but sometimes the power outages cause shortage of water, for which the CDA has arranged 38 water tankers. About cooperative housing societies, Mehreen Anwar Raja said under ICT Zoning Regulations the CDA can not look after the housing societies and said that the issue of lack of basic facilities in societies has also been assigned to the concerned committee. To a question, she said that Rs. 750 million were paid to the families of government employees who died during the last five years from the funds of benevolent and insurance funds. She said presently 63000 families were being paid pensions and about Rs. 17143 million were invested in various interests schemes from the benevolent fund and group insurance funds, while Rs. 14 billion were earned in profit.

(THROUGH ASIA PULSE)