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SIALKOT, Dec 27: Seven people, including two old women, died of cold in the district during the last 24 hours. Two unidentified drug-addicts died in Sialkot city, Bashiran Bibi, 65, died in Sambrial, Shafqat Bibi, 58 in Pasrur and Lala Bashir, Rizwan and Zia in Zafarwal, Narowal district.
Dozens of the cattle and hundreds of birds have also reportedly died in border areas. Villagers told journalists that there was a great shortage of fodder in these areas as the foggy and misty weather has badly damaged the fodder crops.
The Sialkot region is in the grip of severe cold and thick fog these days as there is no sun for the last 10 days. Sialkot and Narowal districts remained blanketed with dense fog on Monday. Cold winds from Occupied Jammu and Kashmir made the weather chilly.
Meanwhile, light rain was also reported from various parts of Sialkot and Narowal districts. The Met office forecast persistence of cold weather for another week. Light rain is also expected in both the districts during the next 24 hours.
UPLIFT SCHEMES: State Minister for Defence Zahid Hamid has said that the government is committed to raise the living standard of the people residing in border villages.
He stated this while addressing a public meeting at Chawinda, Pasrur tehsil, here on Monday. Punjab Labour Minister Syed Akhtar Hussain Rizvi and Pasrur tehsil Nazim Chaudhry Maqsood Ahmad were also present on this occasion.
Mr Hamid said construction of the Pasrur Cadet College would be started soon at a cost of Rs200 million while work on the Sialkot-Pasrur Road and the Sialkot-Kingra-Zafarwal Road was under way.
Punjab Labour Minister Syed Akhtar Hussain Rizvi said that the provincial government had approved various development projects worth Rs250 million for Chawinda, out of which two colleges would soon be established for providing technical educational facilities to the people of these far-flung villages.
He said Rs20 million would be spent on improving Chawinda's decades old choked sewerage system. Both the ministers inaugurated the Sui gas supply to Chawinda and its outskirts with a total cost of Rs 28million during a special ceremony here.
Later talking to various delegations, Mr Hamid said the government would 'soon' announce a special relief package for the affectees of Pakistan-India border tension in 2001-2002 in order to mitigate their financial crisis.
He took a serious notice of complaints regarding telecast of anti-Pakistani Indian movies on cable TV network in bordering villages by the Sialkot-based cable operators. The people alleged that the cable operators were promoting Indian culture in their villages.
