AIOU’s Christian employees celebrate Xmas
Islamabad: Christian employees of Allama Iqbal Open University celebrated Christmas, paying rich tributes to Prophet Esa (AS) for his message of love to humanity.
The Day was marked with cutting a cake. Vice Chancellor Dr Shahid Siddiqui who was chief guest on the occasion congratulated the community on their religious day, wishing them a happy life. He assured them that their welfare would remain his top-priority.
The function was jointly arranged by AIOU project directorate and Employees Welfare Association.
The VC further said that the AIOU would provide scholarships to the children of Christian employees, enabling them to continue their future study.–INP
Rawalpindi to have moto-ambulance service
RAWALPINDI: Rescue 1122 Rawalpindi is going to launch moto-ambulance service as 50 motorbikes have been provided to the service.
District Emergency Officer (DEO) Rawalpindi Dr Abdul Rehman said that an inauguration ceremony in this regard would be held here by the end of the month. He said that the motorbike ambulance service had first been introduced in Lahore considering the congested and narrow streets of the city where usually the ambulances could not go easily. The moto-ambulances would reach narrow streets in the congested areas of Rawalpindi to provide patients with first response, he added.
The respondents will have first-aid kits and will have medical knowledge. The new ambulance service comprising 100 motorbikes would be introduced in Rawalpindi division while 36 medical technicians have been inducted for the motorbike ambulance service for Rawalpindi, he said.
He said that the motorbike ambulances would play a pivotal role to meet emergency situations in populated areas. To a question he said that the technicians who had been hired for motorbike ambulances had been trained on modern lines in Turkey and the service was another feather in the cap of the medical emergency services.
These motorcycle ambulances will be equipped with foldable stretcher, trauma and burn kits, automatic external defibrillators, portable oxygen, pulse odometer and glucose meter, he said. For patients in critical conditions, these emergency medical technicians on motorcycle ambulances will carry the patient out on a stretcher to the point accessible for ambulances, he concluded.–APP
Cleanliness drive underway in Rawalpindi
RAWALPINDI: As many as 3,454 dumping sites in 1,100 villages in the district have been cleared under first phase of ‘Khadim-e-Punjab Saaf Dehat Programme’, said Deputy Commissioner Talalat Mehmood Gondal.
He said that cleanliness system in rural areas was being improved in the district under the programme launched on the directives of CM Punjab Shehbaz Sharif. He claimed that it was first of its kind initiative taken for rural areas aimed at providing the people with clean atmosphere to keep them safe from diseases.
The community will also be involved in the programme to make them realise that sanitation was mandatory not only for their faith but also for comfortable and healthy life, he said, adding that participation of the community and association of local government organisations was mandatory to keep the campaign successful.–APP
He said that Punjab government was not only focusing urban areas but rural areas as well, and the initiative was a revolutionary step which clearly depicted that he preferred well-being of rural areas in the same way. He said that respective ACs had been nominated as focal persons who are working in close coordination with UC chairmen and secretaries to serve this purpose.
He said that phase-II of the programme would start in January and the government had not only increased the budget but also would provide required machinery for this phase. He said that the UC chairmen were allowed to utilise the remaining budget for cleanliness after paying salaries which would make them more independent.