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Express Tribune
6 days ago
- Climate
- Express Tribune
Storms expose rural homes' vulnerability
At least 10 people were injured as severe thunderstorms caused structural collapses across Punjab on Tuesday. According to Rescue 1122 officials, the provincial emergency service reported widespread damage to homes and boundary walls as high winds and heavy rains battered several areas. In Chichawatni, two women were injured when the roof of their home in Gulstan Colony collapsed during the storm. The victims, identified as 70-year-old Kulsoom Bibi and 35-year-old Shakeela, were rushed to a nearby hospital. Nearby, two boys playing outside their home, 10-year-old Umar Farooq and 12-year-old Abu Sufyan, were injured when a mud wall gave way under the force of the wind. The situation proved equally dangerous in Pakpattan district, where five members of a family were injured when their home's roof collapsed near Lakhnawali Bahmani Bridge. The victims included three children – Zain, aged three, Rehan, five, and Rizwan, seven -- along with 20-year-old Sadia and 70-year-old Sharifan. In a separate incident along the Nanakpur-Dipalpur road, 13-year-old Areeba was struck by debris from a neighbour's collapsing boundary wall. Rescue 1122 teams transported the injured to medical facilities. "Our emergency teams were deployed within minutes of receiving distress calls," said a spokesperson, Farooq Ahmed. "All victims received immediate medical attention." The incidents sparked renewed concerns about housing safety standards in rural areas, particularly regarding old mud-brick structures vulnerable to extreme weather. With more storms forecast for the coming days, the authorities urged residents to exercise caution around potentially unstable buildings and to report any emergency situation immediately through the Rescue 1122 helpline. Meanwhile, Punjab Emergency Services Secretary Dr Rizwan Naseer directed all district emergency officers to ensure timely emergency ambulance, rescue and fire services to citizens across the province during the Eid holidays. He said during a meeting that close coordination must be maintained with the district and tehsil headquarters hospitals for coping with any untoward incident. The provincial monitoring officer informed the secretary that special rescue teams would be deployed on Eid. These rescuers along with 892 ambulances, 2,300 motorbikes, 80 rescue and 303 fire vehicles shall be available at key points and rescue stations. Additional rescue posts shall also be established to provide optimum emergency cover. The Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) and Patient Transfer Services (PTS) Cell at the headquarters will operate round-the-clock to ensure the timely transfer of patients from tertiary to specialised healthcare facilities by road and air ambulances, especially for remote areas. On the occasion, urged the citizens to ensure safety precaution while visiting water recreational sites during the vacations. He advised people not to enter water or a boat without wearing life jackets. Climate change Addressing a seminar organised at Punjab University of mark the World Environment Day, Punjab Parliamentary Secretary for Environmental Protection Kanwal Pervaiz said climate change had emerged as the greatest challenge of the 21st century, with Pakistan among the most severely affected countries. She said human activity had been the primary driver of environmental degradation, noting that emissions from nearly 80 of vehicles are a major contributor to urban pollution. "Lahore was once known as the city of gardens; sadly, it is now referred to as the city of pollution," she lamented. With additional input from APP
Time of India
24-04-2025
- General
- Time of India
Nashik civic body awaits formal hand over of 18 completed smart city projects
Nashik: Even after completion of 18 smart city projects — including Goda Park and the Emergency Operation Centre — by the Smart City Mission, they are yet to be handed over to the Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC). Some projects, like Goda Park, were completed around a year ago. The Rs20 crore Goda Park project is yet to be opened to the public and has been lying idle for over 15 months after inauguration. Municipal commissioner Manisha Khatri has now set a one-month deadline for the handover of the projects. Khatri, while talking to TOI, said that all completed projects are to be handed over to NMC with complete service level agreements. "The formal handing over for all projects will take some time as we need to enter into tripartite agreements between contractors, smart city corporation, and the NMC for operations and maintenance," Khatri said, adding that the handover of the projects is expected within a month. Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Intel Laptops + 1:1 Support for Your Team Lenovo Pro Benefits Learn More Undo The Goda Park project has been a major attraction for the city residents, but it is yet to be opened to the public. The project includes children's play areas, an amphitheatre, a fountain, an open gym, a rose garden, and an open restaurant, among other features. Moreover, a floating jetty was also developed for boat rides on the bank of the Godavari river. Goda Park is part of the Godavari beautification project that has taken shape at the Godaghat near Ramkund and Ramwadi — located in the upper stream of the Godavari. Moreover, another garden has been developed on the other side of Ramkund. Basalt flooring has been fitted on the Godaghat near Ramkund at around 44,000sqmt. As many as 40 "Deepstambhs" have been installed on Godaghat, and the stone cladding work is in progress there. The total cost of the overall Godavari beautification project is around Rs75 crore. Sumant More, CEO of Nashik Municipal Smart City Development Corporation Ltd (NMSCDCL), said they completed 18 of the total 21 projects under the Smart City Mission and are in the process of handing them over to the NMC following the tripartite agreements. The smart city corporation undertook a total of 21 projects amounting to Rs 1,000 crore. Of these, 18 projects worth Rs 650 crore have been completed.
Express Tribune
03-04-2025
- Health
- Express Tribune
Medics heed call of duty on Eid
Thousands of polio workers, including lady health workers and vaccinators, celebrated Eidul Fitr while vaccinating children at bus terminals, railway stations and hospitals. The polio teams administered vaccine to thousands of children during the Eid holidays. The government hospitals also continued treatment of patients during the holidays and a large number of doctors, nurses and paramedical staff members also celebrated the Eid while performing their duty. As ten citizens celebrated the Eid with families, thousands of polio workers, following the instructions of the Punjab government and Emergency Operation Centre, performed duties of vaccination at bus and railway stations, transport terminals and hospitals where counters had been set up to vaccinate the children. The Punjab Emergency Operation Centre had decided before the holidays to administer polio vaccine on the Eid days. The entry and exit points of cities, especially bus and railway stations, as well as hospitals had been identified to care to the maximum number of children. The Eid holidays of polio team members had been cancelled after the detection of poliovirus in environmental samples from various parts of Punjab, following which 12 districts of the province, including Lahore, had been declared sensitive in this regard. Following the instructions of the Punjab Emergency Operation Centre, polio teams remained deployed to administer the vaccine to the children during the holidays. A polio worker, Sadia Rahman, said, "It is a part of our training that the health and life of the public is more important than celebrations. Like me, every polio worker is celebrating Eid on the roads. All departments and more than 50,000 lady health workers in Punjab are concerned after the detection of polio virus and we believe that at the moment polio vaccination is more important." She said the workers were missing their children and families while fulfilling their duties but their focus was on eradication of polio from the country. "It is our misfortune we still are in the list of the countries where polio prevails," she added. An LHW, Asma Shahzad, said, "Eid duties are not easy as we sacrifice our happiness and our kids are missing us at home but we are rendering services for the country's healthy future." She added, this polio campaign was very important in view of the prevailing situation and "we are happy that we are doing maximum vaccination". Beside the polio workers, a large number of nurses, doctors and para medical staff members also remained in hospitals during the holidays and celebrated the Eid while performing duties in the emergency and other wards. The emergency services remained on alert during the holidays, while the polio counters also remained open. The hospital administrations were also active to monitor the treatment facilities the holidays. The hospital administrations also arranged breakfast and lunch for patients and medical teams with the help of philanthropists. "Following the instructions of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, free treatment facilities for the patients continued during the holidays. The health professionals celebrated Eid with patients, which is appreciable. I congratulate all health professionals on celebrating the Eid day with patients," said Dr Alfareed Zafar, Principal of the Postgraduate Medical institute.
