Railways on path of development: Minister

 By Abdul Qadir Qureshi

(Pakistan News & Features Services)

The Federal Minister for Railways, Sheikh Rashid Ahmad, has said that the $6.8 billion tender for the ML-1 rehabilitation project would be floated soon which would revolutionize the railways' service in the country.

"The country will get massive economic benefit in the form of 150,000 jobs and significant surge in the freight business after conclusion of ML-1 project,” he remarked while talking to the media at his camp office in Karachi. 

He shared that the preparation of coaches for the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) was underway in Islamabad and the service would be revived as per the directives of apex court. 

"Rs.1.8 billion out of earmarked Rs 10.5 billion for the KCR project have been released and 9 kilometres track out of 14 kilometres in the planned first phase revival has been totally rehabilitated" he stated while describing Karachi City as the hub of railways' activities, particularly the freight business. 

Prior to press conference, the railways minister had strictly directed, in a meeting, the complete elimination of encroachments on railways' land alongwith taking stern action against the officers and official involved in the malpractice.

Coronavirus Update: Infection rate rises in Sindh

 By Mukhtar Alam

(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Sindh, which in recent days has witnessed inconstancy in its daily new COVID-19 infection rates, is inching closer to 2,500 fatalities, while authorities on September 27 here confirmed six more out of nine deaths due to the lethal virus reported in the country, along with 251 new infections detected across the province during the last 24 hours.

According to the data, Sindh’s daily infection rate maintained an uptrend on September 27, standing at 2.58%, which was 2.32% on September 26 and 1.42% on September 25. 

In all 11,708 samples were handled by the designated laboratories in the province during the last 24 hours ending at 8 am on September 27, which confirmed 185 (74%) new positive cases at Karachi. 

Karachi was followed by Hyderabad (7), Badin (7), Jacobabad (5), Jamshoro (4), Dadu (3), Larkana (2), Tando Allahyar (2), Ghotki (1), Shaheed Benazirabad (1), Khairpur (1), Sujawal (1), Sukkur (1) and others. 

The Sindh Chief Minister, Syed Murad Ali Shah, in his COVID-19 related statement, shared that there at present were 3,772 patients, including 3,493 those receiving treatment at homes, six at isolation centres and 273 in hospitals, while 158 patients were stated in critical condition, along with 19 on ventilators. 

In the meantime, Sindh's fatalities reached to 2,492 on September 27, against country's tally of 6,466 deaths out of 310,841 infections.