LAHORE  -   On the directions of the Chief Minister Punjab, the provincial government has stepped up its efforts to ensure the complete eradication of polio and has decided to establish polio counters at all 14 entry and exit points of the province. The decision was taken during a meeting of the Provincial Taskforce on Polio Eradication held at the Civil Secretariat.Provincial ministers Khawaja Salman Rafique, Khawaja Imran Nazir, Chief Secretary Punjab Zahid Akhtar Zaman, Secretary Health Ali Jan, Punjab Polio Prevention Program head Khizar Afzal and officers concerned attended the meeting. The participants agreed to raise the target of routine immunization to 95 percent for prevention of polio and other diseases. Khawaja Salman Rafique said that during the next anti-polio campaign, all the provincial ministers would be present in the field with the polio teams. He mentioned that a different mechanism for polio eradication would be devised for each district. He said that the deputy commissioners, and CEOs health should inform about the problems hindering the desired goals of polio eradication. Khawaja Imran Nazir said that if needed, a health emergency would be declared in the province in connection with polio. He said that the mobile population was the main source of spread of the virus, adding that every child entering the boundaries of Punjab would be administered polio vaccine. The Chief Secretary directed the health department to take action against the staff who showed poor performance in the anti-polio campaigns. He said that eradication of polio was a national agenda, and “there is no room for negligence”. He remarked that the child who was left without polio vaccine becomes a ‘problem child’ for the whole world. He asserted that an unconventional plan has to be adopted to achieve required results from the anti-polio campaign. Secretary Health Ali Jan gave a detailed briefing at the meeting. He told the participants that the ongoing anti-polio campaign in five districts including Lahore would continue till July 7. He said that polio virus has been confirmed in the environmental samples of Rawalpindi and Gujranwala. Meanwhile, Punjab Local Government Minister Zeeshan Rafiq on Thursday directed the officers to design all the projects keeping in minds of the next ten years,besides completing within its stipulated time.

A meeting with his chair held at Civil Secretariat, in which the progress of ongoing development schemes under the Punjab Local Government Department was reviewed. Special Secretary Local Government Asia Gul briefed the Provincial Minister on all the projects. The Local Government Minister directed to complete the ongoing public welfare schemes promptly and in line with Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz’s vision, ensure quality and transparency.

A significant amount has been allocated for development schemes in the new budget and it is now our duty to ensure timely completion of the projects, stated Local Government Minister Zeeshan Rafiq.

He said that repair schemes for broken streets and drains should be completed on a priority basis and all the projects should be designed following the following the demands of future.