TOBA TEK SINGH: Punjab Primary and Secondary Healthcare Minister Khwaja Imran Nazir says the construction of a state-of-the-art cancer hospital in Faisalabad will start within next few months.

Speaking to the media in Faisalabad on Monday, he said revamp of all rural health centres (RHCs) and basic health units (BHUs) in the province would be completed by May 31 next year.

He said on the completion of the deadline two weeks later, 100pc free medicines would be available in the emergency wards of all government hospitals of the province. He said a programme was also being started under which mobile vans would provide medical and blood test facilities to the patients at their doorsteps. He added five medical cities were also being established in Punjab.

The minister revealed that a gang of health department employees had been busted for involvement in corruption in the purchase of medicines for public hospitals.

Later, Mr Nazir visited the Government General Hospital Samanabad where the patients on dialysis requested him to arrange kidney transplants for them. He assured them that their free-of-cost kidney transplant would be arranged in the Jinnah Hospital, Lahore. He took the medical superintendent of the hospital to task over complaints of the patients. He directed Deputy Commissioner Abdullah Nayyar Sheikh to purchase a laparoscopy machine for the hospital.

The health minister also visited the Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan Hospital, Haseeb Shaheed Colony and the government dispensary in Batala Colony.

SHOT DEAD: Robbers shot dead a citizen on resistance in the Factory Area Police Station area of Faisalabad.

According to police, Rana Suhail Sajid was sitting outside his house in Firdous Colony when two robbers reached there on a motorcycle and attempted to snatch a mobile phone from him. When he resisted, one of the robbers opened fire on him, injuring him critically. He was shifted to the district headquarters (DHQ) hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

Meanwhile, a robber was killed in an encounter with the police in Jhang. A spokesman for the Jhang police said three outlaws were robbing motorists near Aliabad on the Bhakkar Road when the police reached there. On seeing the police, the suspects fled towards the Toba Road on their motorcycles.

The police chased them and an exchange of firing took place between them and policemen. When the firing stopped, the police found one of the suspects injured while his accomplices had fled.

The injured suspect was shifted to the DHQ hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. He was later identified as Azhar Iqbal who was allegedly wanted by police in 17 robberies.

The police claimed that Iqbal was killed by the bullets fired by his own accomplices.

UAF: The UAF Endowment Fund Secretariat has extended the deadline for the submission of project proposals until April 30.

A press release stated that proposals are invited from public sector universities and organizations with established administrative and financial systems for funding in research and development, technology transfer, and product commercialization.

Priority areas include climate-resilient agriculture, disease protection, farm mechanization, alternative energy, value addition in agriculture, and biofortification crops.

The endowment fund supports agricultural activities through projects related to technology transfer, project commercialization, and research and development.

Published in Dawn, April 2nd, 2024