BAHAWALPUR: The district administration has installed a sculpture of the national animal of Pakistan, Markhor, at the Government Abbasia Higher Secondary School crossing on the Railway Road.

Deputy Commissioner Irfan Ali Kathia along with PHA Director General Sumaira Rabbani on Saturday inaugurated the monument that attracted interest of the motorists and the pedestrians.

The installation is a part of the beautification campaign of the city launched under the supervision of the district administration by the Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA). Markhor is a Capra species found in Central Asia, Karakoram and the Himalayas. In Pakistan, it is found in Gilgit-Baltistan.

Presently, the PHA is working on the city’s greenbelts, crossings and parks. Earlier, the condition of the canal park along the Airport Road was improved to provide the citizens with a place for recreation activities.

DC Kathia appreciated the PHA for the beautification campaign of the city. He directed the PHA to take further measures for beautification of the city’s entry and exit points by planting saplings around them.

VACCINATION: Most of the parents have expressed their reluctance for the typhoid vaccination to their children during the ongoing campaign in the district.

According to the health department officials, vaccination teams faced a great deal of inconvenience in vaccinating the children from the age of nine months to 16 years.

According to district health authority chief executive officer Dr Iqbal and district health officer Dr Tariq, the vaccination teams had to convince the parents that the vaccination was in the best interest of their children and they should not stop them from administering it.

DC Irfan Ali Kathia, in his video message, impressed upon the parents to get their children vaccinated against typhoid. He informed the parents the vaccine was safe and had no side effects.

Published in Dawn, June 20th, 2021