‘All-out effort to protect cotton crop’

Our corespondent

LAHORE A spokesman for Punjab Agriculture Department has said that efforts are being made to control Pink Bollworm, which is one of the biggest threat to cotton crop in the province. To control it, the Punjab government has decided to distribute Gossipollar Ropes and Sex Pheromone traps among the cotton growers belonging to core and secondary cotton areas of Punjab. To save the cotton crop against Pink Bollwormattack, Rs 96.2 million will be spent on PB Ropes & Gossipollar ropes that would be installed on 54 tehsils of Punjab on 50 acre blocks. The farmers belonging to the divisions of Multan, DG Khan, Sahiwal, Sargodha and Faisalabad can apply for the scheme. The spokesman said they might have to visit the office of deputy director (Ext) or assistant director (Pest Warning) in their area to get free-of-cost application forms in this regard. The farmers may apply individually or in groups to get Gossipollar Ropes and Sex Pheromone traps, he added. PHD IN PUBLIC HEALTH: Punjab University (PU) has produced first-ever PhD in the discipline of public health. According to a press release, Dr Javeria Saleem, who was enrolled in PhD in public health at Institute of Social and Cultural Studies (ISCS), has successfully defended her dissertation. She has completed her PhD research under the supervision of Prof Dr Rubina Zakar. Dr Javeria has worked on “high-dose vitamin D3 in the treatment of severe acute malnutrition: a multi-centre double-blind randomised controlled trial”. Her paper was published in American Journal of Clinical Nutrition which has seven impact factors. In a press statement, Prof Dr Rubina Zakar said public health sector was ignored in Pakistan. She said it is a dire need of the hour to address public health issues in the country in order to curb various diseases. DAY FOR SAFETY AND HEALTH AT WORK: The Punjab Labour and Human Resource Department held a ceremony in connection with the World Day for Safety and Health at Work in collaboration with the German development agency, GIZ, on Sunday. The department held Punjab’s first “International Occupational Safety Health Conference” to focus occupational safety and health. Minister for Labour and Human Resource Raja Ashfaq Sarwarwas the chief guest of the event.