FAISALABAD, Feb 4: The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has been working on capacity building of the Pakistani workforce to tackle issues of the solid waste management and environment pollution the project of which is under way in nine districts of the country.

In a meeting with the University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF) vice-chancellor Dr Iqrar Ahmed on Wednesday, JICA country officer Hiroshi Yoshida told him that the project was going on in districts of Faisalabad, Multan, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Sukkur, Karachi, Quetta and Peshawar.

He said the main objectives of the project was to enhance efficiency in solid waste collection, transportation management, sanitary landfill construction, operation and management based on semi-aerobic methods, appropriate operation and maintenance of vehicles used in SWM and for enhancement of public participation.

He said the aim of this exercise was to transfer knowledge, technical know-how and experience to increase capacity of the Pakistani people.

Highlighting services rendered by JICA for Pakistanis, Mr Yoshida said the agency had dispatched emergency supplies of tents and blankets to quake-hit areas of Balochistan in October last.

Lauding the services of JICA, the UAF vice-chancellor said the agency was contributing to the infrastructural development and reforms in health, education, environment, water and sanitation, agriculture development, irrigation and drainage in Pakistan.

Dr Ahmad said the UAF was a major beneficiary of JICA for it had provided sophisticated equipment for laboratories, library, and for the university publishing department through grant worth 902 million yen.

He said JICA experts were working as specialists in every required field within the framework of the technical cooperation project.

Briefing the delegates, Water Management Research Centre director Dr Rai Niaz said the centre had been working on a project titled “On farm research & development component of rehabilitating lower Chenab canal system (Part-B)”.

He said funds of Rs70 million were provided by Japan Bank for International Cooperation to encourage water saving irrigation technologies and expanding the area under raised bed plantation technology which showed about 50 per cent of irrigation water saving as compared to flood irrigation with yield increase of 25 per cent for wheat, cotton and maize.

The people were on the way to adopt new water saving technologies and applying the raised bed plantation technique for enhancing their production and water saving, he said. CPCL

DEMAND: The Citizen Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) has asked the USAID to assist financially in surveillance projects for monitoring the entry and exit points in the district to arrest the trend of vehicle theft.

A two-member delegation of the USAID visited the CPLC headquarters on Wednesday and held talks with its members on issues relating to security arrangements.

CPLC member Shahid Aziz advocate informed delegate members David Siamond and Jessie that the committee had planned the installation of surveillance cameras at seven different points to monitor the movement of vehicles.

He said by raising gates and installing cameras, the trend of the vehicle theft could be arrested effectively.

In the absence of effective monitoring system, he said the police were unable to chase any stolen or snatched vehicle.

With the help of this system, the CPLC could easily assist the police in netting criminals because the movement of vehicles would be filmed round-the-clock, he said.

The delegate members also inspected different projects, including cell phone blocking, helpline facility and call back center.