LAHORE   -  Punjab Livestock Minister Syed Ashiq Hussain Kirmani on Friday said that Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz had allocated Rs 17 billion for development of the livestock sector. He presided over a meeting which reviewed progress on initiatives aimed at strengthening the livestock sector, here.

He said that implementation of various initiatives to uplift livestock sector would start new chapter of prosperity and progress for livestock farms.

Syed Ashiq Hussain Kirmani said that 11,000 cows and buffaloes would be distributed among poor widows and divorced women of 12 districts of South Punjab and all animals would be tagged and disease free. He underscored the need of forming groups and teams for physical verification of deserving women.

He directed the Livestock department to set up special counters and desks at all district and tehsil centres for guidance of applicants. Advertisement campaign in this regard should be carried out effectively in South Punjab, he maintained. The minister also shed light on Punjab CM’s livestock card and added that as per the direction of Punjab CM a decision had been made to set up foot and mouth disease free zones at a cost of Rs 7.5 billion. Livestock Additional Secretary Dr Usman Tahir and others attended the meeting.