Minister unhappy with PHA performance

LAHORE:Provincial Minister for Housing and Urban Development Mian Mahmoodur Raheed on Friday expressed anger over the performance of Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA) in the provincial capital.

The minister said that tree plantation drive should be started immediately in Lahore. He said parks and grounds in the low-lying areas and localities should also be upgraded and maintained.

The minister said that he had received several complaints in this regard and he would take strict action against the PHA directors in case they ignored the low-lying localities.

He was chairing a meeting of chairmen, director generals and other high-ups of PHAs from Lahore, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Multan, Sahiwal, Rawalpindi, Bahawalpur, Sargodha and DG Khan.

Adviser to CM Asif Mahmood and Housing Secretary Nadeem Mahboob were also present. The minister instructed the high-ups of PHAs of the entire province to take comprehensive and affective measures to achieve the goals set for the tree plantation campaign 2020.

Mian Mahmoodur Rasheed said that PHAs should concentrate on planting trees which provided shade along roads. He directed that special focus should be laid to maintain cleanliness in parks and green belts in the cities as clean environment played an important role in healthy living. He also instructed the officers to complete the arrangements for Jashn-e-Baharan and other programmes to provide healthy recreational facilities to the people.

During the meeting, beautification plans for cities, development and non-development expenditures and advertising rights were also discussed. Magazine: Nursing Punjab Director General Ms Kausar Parveen has said that the launch of a magazine for nurses will add a new chapter in medical education in the country which will enable the higher education students to take up new techniques and innovative changes in the medical world.

Paying tribute to Postgraduate Medical Institute and Lahore General Hospital Principal Prof Dr Sardar Muhammad Alfreed Zafar, the DG nursing said the decision to launch the journal for the first time at the state level was taken due to his keen interest in it.

Talk on two books: Punjab University (PU) Library Book Club organised introductory talks on two books “Skin in the Game: Hidden Asymmetries in Daily Life” written by Nassim Nicholas Taleb and “Lahore Awargee” a travelogue written by Mustansar Hussain Tarar.

According to a press release, the introductory talk on the first book was presented by Atif Hussain, lecturer, IQTM, PU, while the talk on the second book was presented by Dr Muhammad Haroon Usmani, chief librarian, PU Library. A large number of faculty members and students attended the event.