Five more corona patients die at Nishtar Hospital

Ag APP

MULTAN: Five more corona patients died at the Nishtar Hospital on Friday, raising the death toll to 96 during the last 33 days.

They were identified as Raja Khan of Dera Ghazi Khan and four others, Muhammad Khalid, Saeed Ahmed, Salman and Muhammad Asghar, belonged to Multan.

The district health authorities said that 2,262 tests had been conducted in Multan division and out of them 57 were reported positive. Total 2,069 tests were conducted in Multan while 42 of them tested corona positive while test reports of 4,753 patients were still not received.

Similarly, 84 tests were conducted in Khanewal district and 13 tested positive while the reports of 1,602 persons were still not received.

Likewise, 107 tests were conducted in Lodhran district. However, not a single patient reportedly tested positive. Only two tests were conducted in Vehari district and both patients tested positive.

‘Efforts being made to complete ongoing schemes timely’: South Punjab Housing Secretary Liaqat Ali Chattha has said that efforts are being made to complete the ongoing schemes timely at Dera Ghazi Khan, Taunsa and other remote areas in the region.

He said this after his visit to Taunsa Sharif on Friday. The secretary said that Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar had directed early completion of water supply schemes, sewerage and other schemes related to public health. The officer said that providing clean water to the people was the top priority and he would achieve the task amicably. He said that all schemes were being completed under a transparent mechanism.

Protest against sacking of employees from Pakistan Steel Mills: The Awami Workers Party and the Pakistan Trade Union Federation on Friday condemned the forced dismissal of employees from the Pakistan Steel Mills and demanded reinstatement of the workers.

In this connection, a protest demonstration was taken out which was led by AWP South Punjab president Farhat Abbas, Malik Bashir, Sibatin Naqvi, Pervez Iqbal, Rana Shahzad, Dr Khushnood and Abid Qureshi. Speaking on the occasion, Farhat Abbas Khan said that the Karachi Steel Mills was the country’s biggest industrial complex and the government had sacked 4,500 employees and snatched bread and butter from them. He termed the termination of the employees as anti-labourer move.

He said that the decision to terminate the employees reflects the incompetence and inability of the government. He alleged that the government was responsible for the economic massacre of the employees and their families.

The PTI government had announced to provide 10 million jobs but it had actually deprived thousands of people of their jobs, he said. He demanded the government restore the sacked employees immediately.

Addressing the protesters, other speakers alleged that the government was pursuing the IMF agenda and was trying to sell the national institutions.

Stressing on the unity of the workers, the speakers said that it was high time to launch an organised and comprehensive movement against the government so that the workers could escape unemployment. They demanded the government restore the terminated employees of the Karachi Steel Mills immediately.

AC judge to hear case on 8th: Accountability Court Judge Raja Safdar Iqbal on Friday fixed December 8 for hearing of a case against former PML-N MNA Sultan Mehmood Hinjra, PML-N MPA Ghulam Qasim Hinjra, Muhammad Afzal and seven revenue officers in illegal plots allotment case.

All the accused had filed applications for acquittal from all the charges. Earlier, the NAB officials had filed the case in the court, stating that an inquiry into money-laundering was started in the illegal allotment of plots case against the accused persons. The accused had promised to provide plots in Kot Addu but did not provide the plots. To it, the NAB conducted an inquiry and prepared a reference against the accused and presented it before the court.

Mega project: A mega project of mobile diagnostic laboratories worth Rs 16.341 million in three cities of Punjab to identify diseases of fish was underway which will be completed within three years.

Talking to reporters, Deputy Director Fisheries Department Baqir Kazmi said the Punjab government had designed the project for Multan, Sargodha and Gujranwala wherein mobile laboratories will visit farms to identify any disease and collecting water samples for further tests.

He stated fish farms were sprawling on 30,000 acres in Muzaffargarh and 18,000 acres of land in Multan adding that these cities were hub for fish farming.

The project was under execution for the last one year, the DD fisheries said and added that one unit of the lab in Multan will be much beneficial for south Punjab.

Normally, he said, the fish does not develop any major disease and if it is about to die for some reason, it gets out of water. The fish farmers build farms on small area for getting more production.

About rearing of Tilapia fish, Kazmi said it is brackish water fish adding that first export processing unit has been established in Muzaffargarh.

Fish meat of high quality would be exported through the unit, he expressed hope. It equals in Simon and Tuna in nutrients which are costly types, he stated.