The poultry feed and use of injections of hormones to enhance milk production in buffalos and cows have been causing different diseases among the consumers. This was revealed in a meeting of Senate Standing Committee on National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination that was held in the Parliament House on Tuesday under the chair of Senator Sajjad Hussain Turi.
The acting district health officer Islamabad informed the committee members that samples were collected from 70,000 litres milk being transported to the federal capital and found 50 percent of them spiked with different chemicals injurious to health.
He said that they have issued notices to 208 persons while 1317 awareness lectures have also been delivered to chicken and milk sellers in the federal capital. The committee chairman said that those who are selling injurious milk and chicken to people should be sent behind the bars and urged the Islamabad District Administration to implement the relevant laws in letter and spirit to curb the practice.
He said that a poultry farm and slaughterhouse should be established in Islamabad and all the milk being brought to the federal capital from different parts of the country should also be examined carefully before its distribution to the consumers. Senator Nauman Wazir suggested that supply of milk should be handed over to a private firm to ensure supply of the pure product to the citizens.
Senator Ashok Kumar said that sub-standard feed and injections are given to chicks to increase their weight and it bursts if not slaughtered within eight weeks. A representative of Pakistan Nursing Council informed the committee that there is an acute shortage of nursing staff in the country as there is only one nurse available for 2000 patients. The committee was informed that a new course of certified nursing assistant has been started to meet shortage of the nursing staff.