|
|
|
Tsunami warning system planned
PAKISTAN plans to establish a tsunami warning system, with its main centre in Karachi and two backup centres in Quetta and Islamabad. This was revealed by Director General of the Metrological Department of Pakistan, Dr Chaudhry Qamar-uz-Zaman, while delivering a lecture in Lahore.
The lecture was jointly organized by Punjab University’s Centre for Earthquake Studies and Pakistan Academy of Geological Sciences. Dr Qamar said tsunami acts as a killer as it approaches the land and its speed is directly related to the depth of water.
Speaking of the history of tsunamis in Pakistan, he said a tsunami hit the country in 1945 near Pasni with a magnitude of 8.3, causing about 4,000 causalities. He said Quetta, Chitral and Pasni represented major seismic zones where tsunami waves could strike in the future.
He also proposed the upgradation of the National Seismic Centre. The chief guest of the ceremony, the Vice-Chancellor of Punjab University, Arshad Mahmood, urged the students to carry out research on earthquakes and tsunamis. He also spoke of the need for heightened awareness among the masses about natural disasters.
The Pakistan National Accreditation Council (PNAC) and Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR) have decided to join hands in an effort to improve quality and productivity. The aim of the exercise is to enhance exports and accelerate economic development.
In this regard, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed recently between PNAC and PCSIR. The director-general of PNAC and chairman of PCSIR initialed the MoU document.
According to the MoU, the PNAC and PCSIR will coordinate with the local trade and industry associations and the chambers of commerce and industry to identify training needs in order to conduct seminars and courses to train people. The purpose is to establish a working relationship between PNAC and PCSIR to coordinate and organize joint training seminars and courses under the project called Crash Awareness Raising and Training Programme.
PNAC and PCSIR will also look into the possibility of holding joint training workshops at national level, which will discuss greener and cleaner production methods with a special focus on enhancing exports and improving quality as well as productivity.
The government is trying to make education purpose-oriented so that the scientific, technological and industrial needs of the country could be met, according to President Gen Pervez Musharraf.
Speaking recently at a ceremony marking the award of Islamic Development Bank’s ‘Prize for the best science institution in the Islamic world’ to the International Centre for Chemical Sciences, University of Karachi, the president also announced a grant of Rs30 million for the institution.
Referring to the vital difference that key technological fields made in the development of countries, he observed that the engineering sector accounted for 61 per cent of the world’s trade while textile made up just 6 per cent. “Therefore, we are focusing on a gradual shift from agrarian to knowledge-based economy through the institutions of science and technology.
“To achieve that we have increased the education budget from Rs800 million to over Rs9 billion,” Gen Musharraf added. “We have woken up now and are moving faster... . We have to do a lot of catching up as we wasted a lot of time during the last 50 years.
“Now with a growing economy, we will persevere with our efforts to promote education in accordance with our needs,” he told the audience.
Pakistan and Syria have agreed on mutual cooperation and exchange of experts in the field of science and technology.
Presiding earlier this month over a meeting of the Pakistan-Syria Joint Committee on Science and Technology Cooperation, the Federal Minister for Science and Technology, Chaudhry Nouraiz Shakoor, spoke of the need to strengthen scientific and technological capacities by pooling resources and promoting mutual cooperation.
A five-member Syrian delegation headed by Dr Mohammed Najib Abdul Wahed, Deputy Minister for Higher Education and Scientific Research, attended the meeting.
On the occasion Mr Shakoor said Pakistan was playing an active role at the international level in the projects of Comstech and other OIC organizations, like the UN, Saarc, Asean, European Union, Non-Aligned Movement and ECO. Pakistan has already signed agreements with 30 countries, he added.
The Syrian minister said he was looking forward for an active and sustainable cooperation with Pakistan. He said a strategy for success and development in the 21st century should be based on the principle of competition and cooperation, which would benefit both the sides. — Sci-tech World report
|
|
|
|
