Daily Times

A delegation of World Bank (WB) comprising 14 members visited various parts of the Manchhar Lake and the Main Nara Valley Drain (MNVD).

The WB team was led by World Bank (WB) Washington DC Headquarters Water Practice Manager Michael Haney, Water and Sanitation Specialist Dr Greg Browder, Senior Groundwater Specialist Dr Lucy Lytton and Programme Leader Lixin Gu. WB tasked team leader Toru Konishi for ongoing Sindh Water Sector Improvement Project and Sindh Barrages Improvement Programme.

The delegation visited the RD-Reduce Distance 62 of Manchhar Lake, Band Manchhar, Zero Point and MNVD. They received detailed information from the irrigation officers about the rehabilitation of Manchhar Lake and its contaminated water.

Before this, Dadu Irrigation Department Superintendent Engineer Sajid Ali Bhutto briefed the WB team about historical filling sources of water of Manchhar Lake like hill torrents water, Nai Gaaj Nullah, MNVD and other sources.

Separately, Public Affairs Officer Jason Green and Cultural Attaché Cameron Thomas Shah from the US Consulate General Karachi visited University of Sindh and met its Vice Chancellor (VC) Professor Dr Fateh Muhammad Burfat.

They participated in the seminar ‘Exchanges amd Education Opportunities in US’ organised by Bureau of Stags University of Sindh in collaboration with US Consulate General Karachi. The seminar was presided by the VC. In his presidential address, he welcomed the guests from the consulate and thanked them for encouraging students to participate in exchange programmes.

The VC acknowledged the academic, research and cultural relations between the university and the consulate. A number of students from the University of Sindh have been able to avail the opportunity of higher studies in US with the collaboration of US Consulate. He specifically appreciated their Global Under Graduate Programme (UGRAD), on the occasion and said that even currently many students are being trained under this programme. The educational institutes of America are the finest and among best in the world and hence, getting education there is no less than good fortune, he added.

The VC also mentioned how his daughter had availed the opportunity under SUSI programme. He encouraged students and participants to gain knowledge from the session and avail as many opportunities as they can.

He also highlighted the role of parents in encouraging their children especially daughters for applying to such programmes. He emphasised that the youth were the future of the country. “Therefore, it is our collective responsibility to boost their abilities, skills and confidence,” Burfat said.

He added that it was the age of competition and only good education could guarantee success. In his address, he appreciated the faculty of the university and told that many of them held PhDs from around the world including from the US and UK and they were proud of the university. He acknowledged and appreciated the efforts of Bureau of Stags and congratulated the director. STAGS Director Dr Sumera Umrani in her comprehensive presentation had already talked about history of establishment of the university, its campuses, faculties, programs offered and ISO certification. She also informed about the recent achievements and transformations to online attendance and admission system. Among many milestones, she discussed various programmes organised by the bureau with collaboration of different institutes. The director also talked about the achievements of students who went to the US under the UGRAD programme.

Addressing at the session, US Consulate Public Affair Officer Jason Green expressed delight in joining the session at the University of Sindh. He was extremely happy to know that more than 50 students from the university had availed the study scholarship opportunities under different programmes. He said that the collaboration between University of Sindh and US Consulate will work with same zest in future too.