Public education: New university on the cards, says minister

Charter of approval sought from the provincial government

BAHAWALPUR: “A science and technology university will be established in Bahawalpur soon,” State Minister for Higher Education and Interior Balighur Rehman said on Saturday.

“The university will be equipped with modern facilities and a strong faculty so that students of south Punjab have access to education in science and technology,” he said.

He was addressing a meeting at the commissioner’s office. Commissioner Saqib Zafar, DCO Ehtisham Anwer Mahar, Higher Education Commission Director Mazhar Hussain and Planning and Development Director Saqib Ali Ateel and Assistant Commissioner Syed Waseem Hassan were also present.

“The Higher Education Department has devised a sound strategy to impart modern scientific knowledge to students in this region,” he said.

“The faculty at Bahawalpur Science and Technology University will be the best in the country,” he said.

The minister urged officials to finalise the project so that construction of the campus could begin. “The prime minister’s vision to provide education to residents of rural areas should be turned into a reality at the earliest.”

Later, the DCO briefed the meeting about proposed location for the university. He suggested that a solar energy department also be set up in the university.

Higher Education Commission Director Mazhar Hussain said a charter of approval from the provincial government would be approved soon and classes would begin by next year.

Wool from Cholistan

“Rs8 million is generated annually through the collection of wool from Cholistani sheep,” Minister for Cooperatives and Cholistan Development Authority Chairman Malik Muhammad Iqbal Channar said on Saturday.

He was presiding over a meeting of the board of directors of Cholistan Cooperative Wool Development and Marketing Union Limited. The meeting was attended by MPA Khalid Mahmood Jajja.

“The government’s strategy of eliminating the role of middle-men through institutional intervention for marketing Cholistani wool has served to protect the economic rights of people of this area,” he said.

He said the government was mobilising resources to protect animals in Cholistan by extending a wide range of veterinary facilities.

“The government has introduced balloting to distribute livestock among people of the area,” he said.

Channar said steps would be taken to retrieve the land of Cholistan Cooperatives Wool Development and Marketing Union Limited from land grabbers.

MPA Khalid Mahmood Jajja said special camps were being organised to promote the culture of collecting wool from Cholistani livestock owners in a planned manner. He said soft loans for purchase of sheep were also being offered. “These loans will be recovered over five years,” he said.

Waste management

Bahawalpur Waste Management Company collected and dumped nearly 2,000 tonnes of garbage with the help of 900 sanitation workers during a three-day cleanliness drive over Eid. Syed Ahsan Raza, an assistant manager of the company, said, “We distributed 60,000 plastic bags and 250,000 pamphlets in a door-to-door public awareness campaign in the city.”

“As many as 25 Eid camps were established where sanitation inspectors and workers were deployed to keep neighbourhoods clean.”

Published in The Express Tribune, September 18^th, 2016.