Pakistan certifies first organic cotton bale
Balochistan on Wednesday marked the certification of Pakistan's first organic cotton bale at a ceremony held at Kot Sabzal. Balochistan's Minister for Agriculture Engineer Zamrak Khan said the provincial
Dawn (Pakistan)
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W. Bank suggests greater investment in farm sector
The World Bank has called for greater investment in agriculture in developing countries and stressed that the sector should get extra priority if goals of halving extreme poverty and hunger by 2015 are to be realised. In its latest World Development Report on
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Girl, woman die of disease caused by polluted water
A teenage girl and a woman died on Sunday due to a disease caused by contaminated water of Manchhar Lake. Also, about 1500 fishermen of four villages in the surrounding area of the lake have been infected with different water-borne diseases. At least eight people have died during the last three months in four villages adjacent to Manchhar Lake due to water-borne ailments.
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Joint working group to ensure safe drinking water, says Saad
PML-N government in Punjab will form a joint working group comprising Water and Sanitation Agency, representatives of government and civil society organisations to ensure safe drinking water in the province. The government will make concerted and coordinated efforts to resolve environment problem including water and air pollution. A comprehensive anti-encroachment campaign would be launched soon.
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Minister blames contaminated water for rise in polio cases
While Sindh has become a key battleground for the eradication of polio from the country, its newly inducted Health Minister Dr Sagheer Ahmed on Thursday declared that an increase in polio cases was mainly due to the use of polluted water. The minister asked the district governments to ensure supply of clean drinking water to their respective populations.
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Traffic cops being exposed to dangerous levels of lead
A medical survey has found alarming levels of lead in the blood of police officials controlling traffic at some 400 intersections of the city, which may lead to fatal diseases along with "intellectual and behavioural deficits'. Officials at the police's traffic department said the sample medical tests of some 700 policemen were conducted during the last few weeks through a recognized medical institution, which came up with a common report of higher lead levels among the law enforcers.
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Hepatitis detected in blood donors
A fairly large number of 235 of 1,800 people, who had donated blood for thalassaemia patients at the camps organised by the Thalassaemia Care Centre in different areas of the district during last four months, were found hepatitis B and C positive, said the centre's in-charge Dr Sadiq Siyal on Tuesday.
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Mega water project becomes nuisance
Mega project of water supply and drainage, launched in Sukkur city at a cost of Rs 3 billion federal government grant, has become a nuisance for the people turning the entire atmosphere of Sukkur city dusty, besides causing tremendous difficulties for the pedestrians and as well as motorists. Almost the entire inter-city roads have been dug up reducing the already narrow passages and interrupting the smooth flow of traffic especially in the peak hours of morning and evening.
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Plan to increase health budget to 4pc of GDP
The government is working on an ambitious plan to increase the health spending to four per cent of GDP in a phased manner over four years, with an emphasis on disease prevention and awareness promotion. "The government will increase health expenditure from the present 0.6 per cent to four per cent of GDP,' Information Minister Sherry Rehman, who also holds the charge of health ministry, said on Tuesday.
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Question mark over OPV after latest polio case
Sindh, which has planned another mop-up campaign in 14 of its districts after reports of seven confirmed polio cases during the current year, is also anxious to learn more about the efficacy of oral polio vaccines (OPVs) administered to thousands of children up to five years old in the province during national and sub-national campaigns.
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Conservation accord signed
The Sindh livestock and fisheries department has singed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the WWF-Pakistan for a long-term technical and institutional support with regard to conservation of natural resources in the Indus eco-region under the "Indus for All Programme'. Speaking at the signing ceremony, Sindh Minister for Livestock and Fisheries Shoaib Siddiqui said food security was a major challenge and required long-term measures in a country like Pakistan. He said his department would extend full cooperation to the WWF-Pakistan to achieve the objectives.