29 January 2005	Saturday	18 Zilhaj 1425

LAHORE, Jan 28: The Punjab government has launched Mobile Animal Health Service (MAHS) for the first time in the history of the country to facilitate the livestock farmers.

In the first phase, the project has been started in the Okara, Sahiwal, Muzaffargarh and Jhang districts. This service will be provided in Bahawalnagar, Bahawalpur, Gujrat, Chakwal and Dera Ghazi Khan in the next phase.

This was stated by Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi while speaking at the inaugural ceremony of MAHS here on Friday. The CM said development of the livestock sector was important for poverty alleviation because livestock was the basic source of income for farmers.

As the farmers were facing a lot of problems while taking their animals to hospitals, he said, the project would provide them services of qualified veterinary doctors, paramedical staff, dispensary and necessary medicines.

Pervaiz Elahi said the service would be accessible at specific places under a fixed programme, besides being available round-the-clock in cases of emergency. He hoped that the animal health service would result in availability of timely treatment facilities to sick animals and help save the expenditure of farmers on taking their cattle to hospitals.

He acknowledged that there had been a substantial increase in milk, meat and eggs' production due to improvement in the health of livestock. Punjab Livestock and Dairy Development Minister Syed Haroon Sultan and livestock secretary Chaudhry Iftikhar Ahmad said the CM's Self Employment Programme, Punjab Dairy Development Programme 2004, and the Mobile Animal Health Service would go a long way in the development of the sector.

MEETING: Ambassador of South Korea in Pakistan Jeonbou Guan on Friday called on Pervaiz Elahi at the Chief Minister's House. A number of investors from South Korea accompanied the ambassador.

AMBULANCE SERVICE: Punjab Health Minister Dr Tahir Ali Javed on Friday formally opened a rescue centre of the Punjab Emergency and Ambulance Service (Rescue 1122) at Thokar Niaz Beg.

The minister said on the occasion the government had launched the emergency ambulance service to provide efficient and effective transportation to the victims of accidents and other emergencies.

He said the CM had taken this initiative in view of sufferings of helpless victims of accidents and emergencies, who were neglected and mishandled because of lack of trained emergency services and medico-legal reasons.

He said this was the first emergency service in the history of Pakistan, which had been established according to international standards. He said the PEAS project/Rescue 1122 service had initially been started in Lahore.

The ambulances had been equipped with life-saving equipment and medicines, besides trained medical technicians. The project would soon be extended to Rawalpindi, Multan, Faisalabad, Sialkot and Gujranwala, he added.