The Barani Integrated Water Resources Sector Project will be launched next fiscal year from July 2008, and it will be completed during 2014 by the Punjab Irrigation and Power Department (PIPD) with the financial assistance of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). According to update project investment plan, PIPD sources said the investment cost of the project is estimated at $104.5 million equivalent, including taxes and duties of $14.4 million equivalent. Financial charges during implementation (comprising interest during implementation and commitment charges) are estimated at $7.5 million.

Petroleum Minister Muhammad Asif on Tuesday asked the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) to frame new laws to ensure safety in handling and use of liquid petroleum gas (LPG). He was addressing an LPG exhibition organised here by the Ministry of Petroleum and LPG sector stakeholders to identify factors which made LPG production stagnant over the years. He said that the government would like to take every stakeholder of LPG sector on board to make the policies more workable, and utilise maximum potential to increase LPG production to meet the growing energy demand.

The untreated industrial wastewater and irrigation returns have become the real threat to the aquatic life of the Chenab River, while the declining water flow of the river is aggravating the situation, a report of Punjab Irrigation Department has revealed.

The scarcity of reliable perennial water sources, including groundwater, is posing serious challenges to the provision of municipal water to the rapidly growing rural communities and small towns in Barani areas. While new crops should be required new marketing channels and offer new value-added activities for farm communities, but assistance is needed to fully exploit these opportunities.

Growers and small farmers on Monday threatened to launch province wide agitation if merger of the Punjab Provincial Cooperative Bank Limited (PPCBL) into the Bank of Punjab (BoP) was not stopped forthwith.

Standing crops including wheat and some localities were inundated as rainwater caused a 20-feet wide breach in Rajbah Mison near Alipur on Shah Jewna-Lalian Road, about some 40-km from here last night. According to reports, Alipur, Thattha Karana, Chund Phatak, Basti Odan Wali and other adjoining localities and fields were flooded with water due to this breach. Some mud houses in the areas were also collapsed. However, no loss of life was reported.

Live-stock sector has recorded an upsurge in generating income in agriculture sector during last one and a half decades in Pakistan. The share of livestock sector in agriculture income has increased from 29.8 per cent in 1990-91 to 49.6 percent in 2005-06 and its share in export-related earning has been recorded at 10 percent, says a survey report 2005-06 of State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

Federal government has agreed to continue to prepare short-term policy recommendations and awareness-building under ongoing new ADB financing project "Sustainable Energy Efficiency Development Programme". Under this programme, new government will further develop recommendations for removing the institutional bottlenecks to government-sponsored energy efficiency and conservation programmes and support mechanisms playing a more effective role in nurturing a nascent energy efficiency industry and consumer culture.

The President, Sindh Chamber of Agriculture Syed Qamar-uz-Zaman Shah has called upon the government to initiate concrete measures for rapid growth of agriculture sector by providing maximum incentives to growers. Addressing the members of the executive committee of the chamber here on Sunday, Syed Qamar-uz-Zaman, who is also the President of the Chambers of Agriculture of Pakistan has emphasised the need of granting subsidy on fertilisers, pesticides, electricity and diesel to growers in order to reduce the expanses of crop production.

The second international LPG conference coupled with an exhibition will start here on Tuesday. Spokesperson of LPG said that the aim of conference would be to highlight the true growth potential of the LPG industry and focus issues related to its pricing regulation and safety standards. He said that the exhibition would arrange comprehensive display of the latest products and services available to the LPG industry including auto-gas and industrial automation equipment. He said that the LPG sector has shown a tremendous growth since it was deregulated eight years ago.