MULTAN-The Health Department Punjab is considering a proposal to handover the charge of Rural Health Centres to the Punjab Health Facilities Management Company (PHFMCO), The Nation has learnt.
Sources disclosed that the Primary and Secondary Health Department has issued a letter to the Chief Executive Officers Health across the province to provide details of rural health centres in their areas till June 19. The CEOs Health are asked to provide details of human resource, equipment and buildings. Sources said that the Company’s board of directors had already approved the proposal to take over the centres. The Company will also take the charge of such basic health units which are being run through Punjab Rural Support Programme from July 1 while the remaining all units will be taken over by March 2018.
EFFORTS STEPPED UP TO
ACHIEVE COTTON TARGET
The government has cancelled the Eid holidays of field staff of agriculture department in cotton zone and all out efforts are being made to achieve 10 million cotton bales, disclosed Abdul Rehman Ijaz Gondal, Additional Secretary Agriculture (Task Force) Punjab.
Addressing the third meeting of cotton crop management group here at Central Cotton Research Institute on Friday, he said that cotton held the most important status in national economy as major share of foreign exchange came through this crop. He said that the country did not got good cotton crop for the last two years but this year the government focused cotton and made all out efforts to have a bumper crop. He pointed out that the government adopted zero tolerance policy on fake pesticides and 30 accused were caught while fake pesticides worth over Rs. 13 million were recovered since January 2017 during operation.
He declared that the agriculture extension and pest warning staff had reached cotton zone and it would stay there till third sowing of cotton to guide the growers. He warned that no negligence on part of agriculture staff in guiding cotton growers would be tolerated.
Briefing the participants of the meeting, Director General Agriculture (extension) Zafaryab Haider disclosed that 96 per cent of total sowing target in Punjab had been achieved so far as cotton was sowed on 5,755,000 acres of land. “This year cotton has been sowed on 31 per cent more area than the last year,” he added.
Director General (research) Dr Abid Mehmood told the meeting that the growth ratio of cottonseed was very good this year which helped achieve plants’ per acre number. He pointed out that the pest attack was very low this year and the condition of the crop was highly satisfactory. He added that the virus attack was not reported from any area but some spots of white fly were spotted.