589 visually impaired employees to be regularised: minister

LAHORE:Provincial Minister of Law, Parliamentary Affairs and Social Welfare Raja Basharat has said that steps are being taken to regularise the services of 589 visually impaired employees working on daily wages in different departments of Punjab for which 14 departments have been issued instructions.

He was chairing a meeting in this regard Tuesday in the Civil Secretariat. The meeting reviewed the recruitment process at 3 percent quota in government jobs for the visually-impaired and the differently-abled, while the social welfare secretary gave a detailed briefing in this regard.

“All government departments were instructed to ensure transparent recruitment on 3 percent disability quota. The officers of the 14 departments invited to the meeting appraised the progress made in recruiting 589 the visually-impaired on a regular or contract basis in their respective departments. Raja Basharat directed that the recruitment process should be completed within two to three weeks as per the instructions of the chief minister.

anniversary: Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) and Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC) held a coordination meeting of all the departments concerned in connection with the 550th birth anniversary celebrations of Baba Guru Nanak Dev Ji in Pakistan.

ETPB Chairman Dr Aamer Ahmed chaired the meeting and reviewed the progress with regard to the preparations for the event. The ETPB chairman and PSGPC said the Paksitani government would make all arrangements for Sikh pilgrims to make the event memorable. Pakistan will arrange foolproof security for the Sikhs on the occasion.

The PSGPC Pardhan thanked the government of Pakistan and ETPB on making special arrangements. The Yatrees will arrive on Nov 5 and Nov 6 via Wagah border. Main ceremony will be held on Nov 12 in Nanakana Sahib. Thousands of Sikh Yatrees will participate in the ceremony. The yatrees will go back to India on Nov 15 by special trains.

tram service: The British-era famous tram service would be started in the provincial metropolis. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the Transport Department, a Chinese company, CRSC International and Inkon Group of Czech Republic. Under the MoU, both companies will work together with the Lahore Transport Company for the betterment of the public transport sector in Lahore. Work on the modern tram project will be started soon and under the first phase, 50 trams will run on 35km long track on Canal Road. The trams would have the capacity to carry 35,000 passengers in an hour. These trams will be operated through electricity and batteries whereas two tram depots will be set up at two points. Service life of the trams will be of 30 to 40 years.

This was stated by Provincial Transport Minister Jahanzeb Khan Khichi in a statement issued on Tuesday. He said the tram service project was a gift for Lahorites from the Punjab government. He stated that international experiences of Germany, Czechoslovakia and China would be benefited for the development of transport sector in Punjab as these countries have shown keen interest in investing in the project.

He said the project would also solve the traffic problems on Canal Road. It would prove to be a milestone in materialising the dream of a welfare state.