Rotary Darakhshan, LPB call to develop reading culture in Pakistan

 By Abdul Qadir Qureshi 

(Pakistan News & Features Services)

The top functionaries of Rotary Club of Karachi Darakhshan (RCKD) and Library Promotion Bureau (LPB), who jointly organized a seminar on the subject of COVID-19’s impact on libraries at the bureau’s record office, housed in Liaquat Memorial Library, Karachi, on September 30, have called for developing reading culture in the country in order to keep pace with the times. 

“Whatever the circumstances or no matter how long this pandemic stays, we have to devise a strategy whereas people have the tools to access information so that they are not left behind in competing with those living in other parts of the world,” Jahangir Moghul, a former District Governor of Rotary International besides being Charter President of RCKD, reckoned. 

Prof Dr Ghani-ul-Akram Sabzwari, Founder President of LPB, did not mince words in stating that the government should do much more in engaging the masses into reading, suggesting that the improvement of public libraries and school libraries was the best way to do it. 

Asim Murtaza Khan, President, RCKD, pointed out that COVID-19 crisis has acted as a point of inflection for the shift from conventional libraries to e-libraries during lockdown as people had surplus time at their disposal and quest for knowledge increased during this period. 

Prof Dr Nasim Fatima, a stalwart in the profession of library and information science, regretted the closing of e-libraries in Punjab at a time when rest of the world was busy in creating more digital facilities for its people. She urged for the development of libraries, also providing books at doorstep to the readers. 

Syed Khalid Mahmood, Vice President, RCKD, spoke about the multiple social problems having been caused by the closure of public libraries in the developed countries during the lockdown period. He stressed for better coordination and networking between the various stakeholders for developing library culture in Pakistan.

Syed Ahmed Naqvi of LPB, in his introductory remarks, spoke about the need to develop software for online content to be made available in Urdu and other regional languages for the benefit of the masses while Waqas Moghul, Secretary, RCKD, in his closing comments, described books as the best companion for mankind. 

The programme was organized by RCKD, Rotary International had designated the month of September for basic education and literacy.

Coronavirus Update: Further escalation challenges health system again

 By Mukhtar Alam

(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Amidst reports about increase in daily new COVID-19 infections up to 400 in the province, Sindh also witnessed a disturbing escalation in the number of patients utilizing ventilators in Karachi’s hospitals on September 29.

Of the 274 patients hospitalized across the province, as of September 29, as many as 172 were stated to be having critical health condition, while another 37 were put on ventilators at Karachi hospitals against 19 on September 27 and 29 on September 28. 

According to reports, a total of 19 patients were put on ventilators in the public sector hospitals against 10 such patients in private hospitals on September 28. 

These patients were admitted at CHK, Karachi Trauma Centre, Lyari General Hospital, Infectious Diseases Centre, SIUT, LNH, Patel Hospital, AKUH, and Indus Hospital. 

The Sindh Chief Minister, Syed Murad Ali Shah, in his routine COVID-19 statement, shared that there were 416 active patients of the lethal virus in the province, including 3881 in home isolation, six at isolation centres and 274 at hospitals. 

He said that overall 130,137 patients had recovered from the diseases, while the number of patients who lost their lives due to the diseased stood as 2,497, including two fatalities that were registered up to September 29 morning. 

The new infection rate was recorded as about 4% in the province on September 29, against 3% on September 28, 2.58% on September 27 and 2.37% on September 26. 

The district-wise breakdown of 400 new cases, out of 10,881, on September 29 came as: Karachi (297, 74%), Jamshoro (9), Dadu (2), Hyderabad (2), Lakana (2), Shaheed Benazirabad (2), Sukkur (2), Ghotki (1), Kambar Shahdadkot (1), Mirpurkhas (1), Sanghar (10, Umerkot (1) and others. 

As per the official data, updated on September 27, rate of infections at the educational institution was also increasing. 

A maximum of 49 (3.7%) COVID cases were detected in the population of educational institutions located in the Korangi district of Karachi, followed by Matiari (3.5%), Jamshoro (2.4%), Karachi East (2%) and others.

It was further learnt that the majority of the COVID-19 tests were conducted in the private sector laboratories (5,772 samples), against 647 samples handled by the public sector laboratories on September 27. 

In the meantime, Sindh stood second in the lists of provinces and territories in terms of confirmed COVID-19 cases detected among the health providers. As many as 1,690 doctors, 180 nurses and 303 paramedics and other staffs were detected positive for the virus in Sindh, as of September 28.