KARACHI, Dec 2: A modern media resource centre equipped with sophisticated gadgets, computers and other equipment, has been established at the Sindh Assembly building to facilitate the media in covering proceedings of the house and other events in a better manner.

A group of journalists were shown around the centre and briefed about the new facilities by the assembly’s Secretary, Hadi Bux Buriro, on Sunday.

He said that apart from media men, the elected representatives and staff of the assembly secretariat could benefit from the facilities provided under the Pakistan Legislative Strengthening Project for which the USAID had extended financial and technical assistance.

A ‘printing shop’ has also been set up within the building for reproducing official record and proceedings of the house promptly.

He pointed out that the government printing press, where the record and proceedings used to be published earlier, had been taking months to complete the job. However, he added, the new facility had made it possible to get the same printed swiftly. He said the proceedings of the previous assembly were in the process of printing and the task would hopefully be completed by the time the legislators to be elected in the forthcoming elections took their offices.

The facilities made available at the media centre include computers, copiers, fax machines, internet, wireless and broad-band phone communication facility for international dialing.

In reply to a question, he said that the websites of the Punjab and Sindh assemblies had since been updated while those of the NWFP and Balochistan assemblies were at the moment in the process of creation.

Huma Ikramullah, the provincial coordinator of the Pakistan Legislative Strengthening Project, gave details of the workshops it has organised so far.

Librarian of the assembly library Munoz Masker said the system of cataloguing of books and keeping record of the assembly proceedings had been modernised. In the second phase, she added, the library would be digitalised and MPAs would be given personalised passwords.