HYDERABAD, March 22: In connection with the World Tuberculosis Day, a rally was staged here on Saturday.

The rally, organized by the District Tuberculosis Association, Sindh Rural Support Programme, and the directorate, health services, Sindh, urged the government, WHO and other international organizations to provide funds for the tuberculosis control programme and nutrition aid for regions where the disease had spread.

Speaking at the rally, the deputy director, health, Dr Seerat Shaheena, and Sanaullah Shaikh stressed the need for creating awareness among people about tuberculosis.

They said a tuberculosis patient could be cured within eight months if the disease was diagnosed at an early stage.

They said in 2002, 14,000 tuberculosis patients were registered in Karachi, Hyderabad, Dadu, Tharparkar, Umerkot, Nasirabad and Sukkur.

The rally adopted several resolutions, urging government medical associations, pharmaceutical industries, NGOs and health service providers to create awareness among people about the disease.

It also demanded of the government to declare tuberculosis control medicines as life-saving drugs and reduce their prices by 70 per cent.

SAU: The entry test for admission to first year at the Sindh Agriculture University, Tando Jam, and the Dokri Agriculture College would be held on March 25.

This was announced by the deputy registrar, admission, on Saturday.

PROMOTION: The director general, health services, Dr Qadir Bux Memon, here the other day announced that 370 medical officers had been promoted from grade 17 to grade 18.

CONDOLENCE: Noted scholars, writers and educationists, Allama Ghulam Mustafa Kasmi, Dr Ghulam Ali Allana, Mohammad Ibrahim Joyo, Ghulam Rabbani Agro, Hameed Sindhi, Prof Ejaz Qureshi and others, have condoled the deaths of Karim Bux Khalid and Maisoon Hussain.

In a joint statement issued here on Saturday, they paid tribute to the writer and the journalist.