Sindh government has stepped up efforts to nurture and preserve about 20,000 ibex species and their habitats in the province, the provincial wildlife minister, Syed Nasir Hussain Shah, told the Sindh Assembly on Thursday. He said that preservation of 20,000 ibex species habitats in the province is in the department's plans. The minister said that the government issues a bird hunting license for three months.
Replying to queries during the assembly's questions and answers session, he said, wildlife department takes steps regularly to preserve falcons. He said falcons are mostly found in northern areas; however, the Sindh government has placed a ban on its hunting in the province. "Sindh government has planted trees on a radius of about 5,000 kilometres in the province over the past five years," he said, adding that a ban has already been imposed on trees logging.
The minister told the house that the government was to build a park in Nawabshah at a cost of Rs 150 million but failed to find land for the proposed Benazir Central Park over the past two years. He said that forest department revoked the central park scheme from its development plans last January.
Sindh revenue minister, Makhdoom Mehboob-uz-Zaman, claimed that the government is providing wheat to those people of Thar affected by drought, fairly and transparently. The provision of wheat is carried out through Nadra's system, he said.
To a call-attention notice by PTI's Dr Seema Zia, Nasir Shah said that the Chief Minister already included reconstruction of dilapidated Mauripur Road in the next development plans, though the road does not fall in Sindh works and services department's jurisdiction. Dr Seema said the road is in tatters despite being one of the most important thoroughfares and now its revamping needs an immediate attention.
MQM's Kunwar Naveed Jameel, on a point of order, raised the issue of census. He said Sindh's population was shown less than actual statistics in the last concluded head-count survey and especially Karachi's populations. He asked whether Sindh Chief Minister has discussed the matter in the meeting of the Council of Common Interest.
Mukesh Kumar Chawla, Sindh parliamentary affairs minister, replied that he would apprise the house after taking a briefing from the Chief Minister, in this regard.
Muhammad Hussain, MQM's legislator, voiced concern over the chaotic traffic jams on roads across Karachi. He lamented that even the ambulance services are widely affected and cannot smoothly transport patients due to unruly vehicular movements. He said a short distant drive takes hours, as public are traumatically disturbed by the traffic jams.
MQM's jailed lawmaker, Javed Hanif, withdrew his adjournment motion on electricity load-shedding in the province, saying that the issue was already discussed in the previous sitting. The house will resume session on Friday (today) morning.