KARACHI, Aug 3: A poverty alleviation festival will be held on August 27 at the Hindu Gymkhana, with 26 public and private sector universities and professional institutions participating.

Universities, institutes and government departments will set up stalls at the festival.

The program also includes musical renditions, songs and other entertainment, along with participation of the provincial education department, culture and tourism department, SMEDA, SME Bank, Khushhali Bank and the Sindh IT Board.

The festival will open from 3 pm for the viewing of stalls, while heads of universities will discuss micro-financing with banks. At 5:30, presentations by representatives of various universities will start.

Attendance will be by invitation and most of the invitees will be from participating universities, said Brig A.S. Nasir, Chairman of the Sindh Governor’s Inspection team and convener of the event.

The universities and other institutions participating in the festival are Shah Abdul Latif University, Khairpur, Quaid-i-Awam University, Nawab Shah, Preston University, Karachi, Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology, Karachi, Greenwich University, Karachi, Isra University, Hyderabad, Hamdard University, Karachi, SZABIST, Institute of Business Management, Bahria Institute of Management and Computer Sciences, Agriculture University, Tando Jam, Karachi Institute of Economics and Technology, PAF Base, Ziauddin Medical University, Jinnah University for Women, Karachi, Sindh University, Karachi University, Baqai Medical University, Institute of Business Administration/ Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, Jamshoro, Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences. — PPI