MULTAN: Commissioner of Multan Division Ashfaq Ahmad Chaudhry has said that the first digital census would start on February 1 and that the exercise was vital to determining the future needs of the country.

He was talking to the under-training enumerators here on Saturday. He said that cooperation between the enumerators and the respondents was vital for a successful census.

The first paperless census, including geo tagging, would continue till March 4. He said that technology has an important role in latest era and census was considered as an important tool for planning of the country.

Director Local Government Zahoor Hussain said that 5,559 enumerators and 873 supervisors will perform duty during census across the division while 9975 blocks have been established for census. Every citizen would be able to upload his own data in the digital census on the portal.

On this occasion, Additional Deputy Commissioner Rizwan Nazir and other officials were present.

Meanwhile, Commissioner paid a surprise visit to Nishtar Hospital and took a briefing about medicines and machinery in the hospital. He said that a hospital equipped with modern facilities was top priority of the Punjab government. The health sector is being expanded to provide medical facilities to the citizens.

Vice Chancellor Nishtar University Dr Rana Altaf said that patients were treated beyond the capacity of 1,700 beds.

MS Nishtar hospital Dr Rao Amjad said that 159 items of drugs were available in the hospital. Labor room, dialysis, emergency, operation theatres, intensive care unit, neonatal emergency, dengue, corona wards, complete and free medicines were available.