MULTAN  -  The Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) Multan chapter on Monday called off ongoing medics' strike against an incident of harassment of a lady doctor in Rahim Yar Khan.

Addressing a joint news conference here, the PMA Multan president Prof Dr Masoodur Rauf Hiraj, general secretary Dr Rana Khawar and disclosed that the Punjab health minister Dr Yasmeen Rashid had accepted a proposal sent to her by the PMA for introduction of a law on pattern of KPK for the protection of on duty medical staff. They said that the law would be approved by the Punjab Assembly to prevent frequent violence acts against medics.

They said that dozens of violent incidents took place at hospitals during last few years but there is no law which offered security to the doctors working at public or private hospitals. They said that keeping in view the situation the PMA put forward a demand regarding enacting a law and the Punjab Government accepted this demand. They disclosed that a meeting between the PMA and the provincial health minister had been finalised to discuss the law. They asked the doctors to submit their written proposals to the PMA representatives so that a comprehensive law could be enacted.

STEPS UNDERTAKEN

TO BOOST AGRI SECTOR

The PTI government has undertaken a number of steps to lift the agriculture sector, bring prosperity to the farmers, cut down production cost and turn agriculture into an ideal field.

Punjab Agriculture Minister Malik Nauman Langrial stated while addressing a session of the fifth meeting of cotton crop management Group here at Central cotton Research Institute here on Monday. He disclosed that the Punjab government has assigned targets to agriculture department for boosting production of different crops as the province can play a key role in poverty eradication and food security in the country. 

He was of the opinion that agriculture is the most important pillar of national economy. "At least 45 percent of Punjab's total population and 65 percent of rural population earns bread and butter from agriculture," he pointed out. He informed that Punjab produces about 72 percent of the total national cotton crop and it was sown over 4.8 million acres of land this year. He said that the cotton rate is better than last year and the deals are being fixed at Rs3,600 to 4,000 per maund.

He declared that the provincial government has adopted zero tolerance policy against dealers dealing in counterfeit pesticides and fertilizers with a view to supplying quality agricultural inputs to the farmers. He disclosed that the fertilizer controllers and pesticide inspectors conducted surprise raids across the province and got registered FIRs besides taking into custody fake pesticides worth Rs8.5 million. Similarly, the fertilizer controllers recovered fake fertilizers worth over Rs2.3 million.

Earlier, the participants of the meeting were told that special teams comprising pest warning staff had been constituted to monitor and report pest attack and disease outbreak. It was also told that traps had been installed for the monitoring of pink bollworm at union council level. Similarly, good quality cotton seed worth over Rs23.51 million was supplied to 22347 farmers from Multan, Bahawalpur and Dera Ghazi Khan divisions on 50 per cent subsidy.

The meeting was attended among others by Prof Dr Asif Ali, VC Mohammad Nawaz Sharif University, Cotton Commissioner Dr Khalid Abdullah, Syed Zafaryab Haider Director General Agriculture (Extension), Roy Mudassar Abbas, Director of Information Agriculture Punjab, Dr Zahid Mahmood, Director CCRI, Dr Sagheer Ahmed Director cotton and Naveed Ismat kahlun.