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| July 17, 2005 | Sunday | Jumadi-us-Sani 9, 1426 |
PM calls for better water management: Cheques given to train crash victims
ISLAMABAD, July 16: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Saturday distributed compensation cheques among the relatives of those, who lost their lives in the Ghotki trains crash on July 13. “Money is no substitute for the precious lives that were lost,” Prime Minister Aziz told a group of victims relatives. “It was a very sad incident and I was shocked to see the horrific crash in news,” the prime minister said, who returned home Saturday from Germany and Italy.
Minister for Railways Shamim Haider earlier met the prime minister at the Islamabad airport and gave him the latest details.
He asked him to expedite the inquiry being conducted to look into the factors leading to the country’s first ever multi-train accident.
The prime minister said he had asked railways to take all necessary measures to avoid recurrence of any such incident in future. He also asked the minister to bring to task those responsible for the tragic accident.
He handed over cheques of Rs200,000 each for the dead to their family members.
The prime minister directed the authorities concerned to provide best possible treatment to the injured. PML President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain was also present.—APP
OUR REPORTER ADDS: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz here on Saturday stressed the need for constructing more water reservoirs to meet the growing water needs.
Speaking at the award-giving ceremony of the “Grow More Wheat Campaign 2004-05” here at the National Agriculture Research Council (Narc), the prime minister urged the agri-scientists and farmers to adopt modern techniques for increasing productivity.
Mr Aziz said the government was spending billions of rupees in the form of subsidy to provide cheaper urea to the farmers.
The government was already spending huge funds to improve water availability through construction of new reservoirs, for the lining of water canals and improvement of irrigation system, he added.
He said Sukkar barrage, which had developed cracks, had been rehabilitated by the army in a record time.
He said the farming community faced no hurdles to modernize themselves, as there was zero-rated duties on the import of machinery. “By following the old methods of farming, we could not compete with the ever-changing world.”
He said the government was particularly looking at passing on the benefits of the economic growth to small farmers.
He said the government was also working to bring “white revolution” by providing facilities and credits to improve dairy products.
Pakistan was the sixth largest milk producing country but was not exploiting its full potentials, he said.
He said the federal and provincial governments were jointly working to redress the issues confronted by the farmers. The progress of Pakistan was linked to the progress of the country’s farmers and Pakistan’s progress would be a source of strength to the Muslim world, he said.
Mr Aziz called for adopting the changes taking place around the globe to be able to compete internationally.
Agriculture constituted 24 per cent of the total GDP of the country and 42 per cent of the country’s labour force was employed in the agriculture sector, Mr Aziz said and urged the farmers to take benefit from the latest research.
He said there had been good wheat crops over the last one and a half years and the cotton crops this year also performed exceptionally well. The production in vegetable, fruits and livestock has also increased, he said.
While referring to the fast improvement taking place in the agriculture sector, Mr Aziz said Rs60 billion of the income went to the rural areas last year. The growing income level of farmers, he added, was reflected in the fact that tractors were now being bought on premium. He said private commercial banks were now providing more credits than the Zari Taraqiati Bank (ZTBL).
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