Tribute paid to Dr Ruth Pfau

LAHORE

A condolence reference was organised here at the Emergency Services Headquarters on Saturday where senior officers, instructors and cadets paid rich tribute to Dr Ruth Pfau, the Mother Teresa of Pakistan.

Director General Punjab Emergency Service Dr. Rizwan Naseer said she was popularly known as Pakistan’s Mother Teresa for dedicating her life to healing leprosy patients in Pakistan.  As a result of her tireless efforts, the World Health Organization in 1996 declared Pakistan one of the first countries in Asia to be free of leprosy. He said it was a great loss not only for Pakistan but for entire humanity as meritorious services of Dr. Ruth would be long remembered in the history of Pakistan. He said she presented herself as a true role model of serving humanity.

He said the legendary figure of Dr. Ruth Pfau landed in Pakistan in 1960 and decided to stay in the country after witnessing the plight of leprosy victims on the streets of Karachi. He said that he had decided to serve humanity while bringing emergency services reforms in Pakistan. As a result of which Pakistan had first modern emergency service in Pakistan in 2004, which has rescued over 5 million victims of emergencies during last 13 years.

 The Director General, while addressing to the cadets, said that you have to confront hardships when you dedicate your life for a national cause. “Like patients of leprosy, the victims of road traffic crashes in Pakistan were too considered ‘untouchables’ when I mustered up courage and started the journey of Emergency Services,” he said.

workshop: Pakistan Railways held a consultative workshop on Railways Strategic Plan with Asian Development Bank consultants' team at a local hotel here at Lahore. 

Consultative workshop encompassed all aspects of the department like business development, human resource management, rolling stock availability and infrastructure development.

Pakistan Railways Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Muhammad Javed Anwar said, "We are reinventing Pakistan Railways. Our resolve to make a futuristic policy and rule book would give a new bible to Pakistan Railways for decades. This is the last opportunity for us to formulate an all-inclusive strategy that will define governance framework of future Pakistan Railways.”

According to a press release, the consultative workshop was presided over by Adviser to Minister for Railways Anjum Perveiz and Co-Chaired by Secretary Railway Board Ms Parveen Agha.  

ADB consultants' team head Sakamoto told the participants, " We have provided you with international experts. We are facilitating the process." 

While giving presentations on different departments of Pakistan Railways, it was told to the ADB team that Pakistan Railways assets started deteriorating in the 1980s and 90s due to lack of investment, resulting in reduction in number of trains, and freight operation nearly halted back in 2012. Today freight traffic has increased from only 0.4 million tonnes in 2013 to 5 million tonnes today and would be 8 million tonnes next year.  Pakistan Railways has been able to double its revenue in a short span of three years and is going ahead of its targets. Its earning was Rs 18 billion in 2013 and the target for this fiscal year was Rs 53 billion while it closed at Rs 40 billion last year. Railways is ready to replace its redundant rolling stock. It has already added 4,000 horse power 55 General Electric locomotives to its stock and by 2025, the number of functional locomotives will increase from 300 to 500. Pakistan Railways will consider replacing outdated locomotives and hauled coaching equipment with modern high speed and high tech trains. 

Pakistan Railway is going to receive the most massive investment of its history that is 8-9 billion US dollar in the next five years.  Infrastructure department’s strategy is primarily concerned with implementation of the major investments to modernise/upgrade ML1 and planning the modernisation/rehabilitation of ML 2 and ML 3 as well as new links. 

Similarly, ML 1 is future of Railways infrastructure as it will introduce new working methods i.e computerisation, use of GPS in signalling system, increase loading capacity and design speed of 160 km per hour.  Freight has already increased to 24,000 tonnes from 1,000 tonnes. CPEC leader Ashfaq Khattak told the ADB team that international experience stated that most of world’s railways were state-owned enterprises run by independent boards which were bound to follow government’s directives, however, they were run as commercial entities and for public service obligations, the governments compensated railways.