ISLAMABAD, Sept 9: The Ministry of Science and Technology has formed a committee to prepare an integrated programme for the uplift of inhabitants of Cholistan. The committee will be headed by PCRWR chairman Dr Mohammad Akram Kahlown and comprise Dr Anwarul Haq Siddiqui, Pakistan Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR) chairman; Dr Parvez Akhter, Director-General, Pakistan Council for Renewable Energy (PCRET); and Dr Riazuddin, Director-General, Centre for Agriculture and Molecular Biology (CAMB).

The expertise of the organizations concerned will be pooled to prepare a project to improve quality of life of the downtrodden Cholistani people.

PCRWR will focus on development of water resources while PCSIR, PCRET and CAMB will focus on development of medicinal plants, solar energy pumps and wind energy for producing electricity and tissue culture, respectively.

This is worth mentioning that the PCRWR’s research and development efforts in Cholistan have already started showing signs of relief on many accounts with the completion of installation of 20 tubewells and two desalinization plants and construction of a network of 90 rainwater harvesting ponds, capable of fulfilling the water requirement of 0.1 million Cholistani folks and their 2.0 million livestock.

Grass cover on 500 acres has already been established at PCRWR’s Dingarh Research Station which now gives a look of fully cultivated grassland covered with different salt tolerant species and fodder grasses.

After preparing terms of references, the committee is likely to furnish its preliminary report shortly to the ministry of science and technology which will lead to a preparation of an integrated project for the uplift of residents of Cholistan.

This project will be executed jointly by the four cooperating agencies.