The first Integrated Waste Management Station inaugurated at Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi (PMAS-AAUR) here on Friday.

 

The state-of-art, modern treatment facility is based on the mechanical and biological treatment process of solid waste with proper segregation, recovery of recyclables completed in two and a half months at a cost of Rs 0.5 million.

 

The station was formally inaugurated by Muhammad Mahmood Punjab Agriculture Secretary. Prof. Dr. Rai Niaz Ahmad, Vice Chancellor, PMAS-AAUR,  faculty members, staff and students were also present on the occasion. 

 

This is the fully integrated waste management facility being not the only first one in the educational institutes but also in the country, designed and executed by PMAS-AAUR Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr. Rai Niaz Ahmad and Dr. Ghulam Jillani.

 

The key features of this recently developed station are to transform decomposable waste into compost for organic agriculture and bio-gas which can provide safe and healthy food to the community. This station also has the arrangement for food waste drying from poultry feed, and water heating through incineration of combustible waste. In future university is also planning to generate electricity through steam boiler to be installed here.

 

The Punjab Agriculture Secretary Muhammad Mahmood, while visiting the station said that solid waste if handled properly would maintain the natural balance of essential elements and thereby promote more harvest from nature. He said that people must realize that the waste which they throw in the streets are not actually waste it is the raw material for some other products. He appreciated the efforts of PMAS-AAUR for establishing Solid Waste Management Station and recommended that it should be promoted by increasing public awareness and integrating the informal sector to make the current system sustainable and financially viable.

 

Earlier, PMAS-AAUR, Vice Chancellor, Prof. Dr. Rai Niaz Ahmad briefed the chief guest about the aims and objectives for the establishment of this station. He said that solid waste is collected from the campus and recycled into useful/beneficial products without any sort of pollution. He informed that this center will also act as a learning center to create awareness about the positive environment impact of the solid waste treatment facility in the country.

 

 

 

The second meeting of the Olive Development Group (ODG) organized by Punjab Agriculture Department, USAID Punjab Enabling Environment Project was also held at PMAS-AAUR to review the implementation status of the Olive Sector Development initiatives. Secretary Agriculture Department, Govt. of the Punjab,  Muhammad Mahmood along with 27 members of the group representing public and private sector attended the meeting. They highlighted the need to identify viable solutions to the problems hindering the sector growth through collective effort.

 

The Secretary Agriculture Department, Govt. of Punjab,Capt. (R) Muhammad Mahmood said, there is a lot of potential in olive cultivation and  will help save precious foreign exchange being spent on the import of edibleoil. He said that Pakistan’s progress and prosperity is linked with agriculture, so as much as we promote this sector it would help boost overall economy of the country. The Punjab govt is also developing certified nurseries in the private sector and olive research center in different areas to facilitate the farmers. He said that there is dire to conduct awareness and training programmes to facilitate the people by creating awareness on olive cultivation techniques and producing value added products.

 

PMAS-AAUR, Vice Chancellor, Prof. Der. Rai Niaz Ahmad, in his welcome address highlighted that there is a lot of potential in the region of potohar for olive cultivation. He emphasized the significance of orchards and Olive cultivation for the agricultural economy of Pakistan and urged the scientists of the university to play their role to create awareness in farming community about the latest techniques in the agriculture.

 

The Olive Development Group (ODG) constituted and notified by Government of the Punjab with the support of USAID Punjab Enabling Environment Project (PEEP) aims to improve the business environment for development of the olive sector in Punjab by involving public and private sector entities. The group will set the vision for sectors growth and advocate for reforms at policy, and regulatory levels to achieve the proposed objectives.

 

On the same occasion, USAID Punjab Enabling Environment Project and Pir Mehr Ali Shah-Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi (PMAS-AAUR) signed a Memorandum of Understanding to mutually promote research and development in the olive sector.