ACTIVITY REPORT OF WORLD CAMEL DAY
June 22, 2012 (Fri)
The World Camel Day (WCD) was celebrated by the Dept of Livestock Management with the collaboration of the Camel Association of Pakistan (CAP) on June 22, 2012 (Fri). This event was attended by a variety of people more than 300 including the University Faculty, students, and farmers in a full pack New Senate Hall at UAF despite a severe load shedding of June. The Faculty from UVAS, Lahore, IUB Bahawalpur, and many progressive farmers and breeders like Messrs Mumtaz Ahmad K Manais and Ahmad Yar Khan Manais. The event was inaugurated by the honorable Vice Chancellor, UAF followed by the presentation by scientists and camel experts (as per the program attached). Dr. Abdul Rehman (DLO Faisalabad) along with his colleagues from the Livestock and Dairy Development also made a significant share among participants.
Prof Dr. Iqrar Ahmad Khan, the Vice-Chancellor inaugurated the seminar in New Senate Hall at 9:30 am. Among the speakers were Dr Muhammad Riaz (Dept of LM), Dr Muhammad Younas (Dept of LM), Dr Muhammad Afzal (IAN&FT), Dr Muhammad Ashraf Iqbal Mughal (DLF, Lahore), Dr Tanvir Hussain Turabi (IUB, Bahawalpur), Dr Muhammad Abdullah (Dean, UNVAS, Lahore), Dr Khlaid A Khan (BLPRI, Kherimurat), Mr Mumtaz K Manais (Progressive Farmer), and Dr Muhammad Sarwar (Dean FAH, UAF).
Dr Muhammad Riaz threw light on the significance of the need and importance of the celebration of World Camel Day. Dr Muhammad Younas made a detailed presentation on “How the Camels are Made” and elaborated on various attributes of the Pakistani camel and its position in the national and international markets. The light was thrown on camel creation, breeds, its special attributes, body conformation, distribution, desert survival, temperament and behavior, feeding and water conservation, camel milk, racing, dancing, and comparison of the camel around the world. Dr Muhammad Afzal made a detailed presentation on the camel feeding requirements. Singing of Camel Songs was performed by Mr Waqar Ahsan et al. the University students.
The CAP arranged competitions among students before World Camel Day. The winners were awarded prizes by the Guest of Honor Mr Mumataz K Manais, Dr M Asharf Mughal and Prof Dr Muhammad Sarwar for the Camel Drawings and cartoons from Lab School (Ayesha Iqbal, Noor-ul-Huda & Umme-e-Habiba), Urdu essay Lab High School (Almas Zulfiqar, Aamina Nawaz & Wajiha Yasmeen), English Essay from DVM and AS students (Rehana Kanwal, Fakhr-un-Nisa & Aneela Pervez), Essay from PARS Community College (Amna Arshad, Salman Younas & Benish Ashfaq & Umar Shahzad), Camel articles (Ahmad Muneeb Anwar, Adeel Arshad & Asad Riaz) and Camel flexes from PG students (Abdul Rauf Khalid, Roman Farooq Alvi, and Asim Faraz).
A vote of thanks was extended by Dr Muhammad Younas. Many thanks were extended to Ghazi Brothers, Endowment Fund Secretariat (EFS), TV, print media and PO, PRP, and his staff. The pain taken and cooperation extended by the livestock farmers and camel breeders was highly appreciated. The efforts of the faculty members, Dept colleagues and staff, Faculty members, and the worthy Dean, Faculty of Animal Husbandry for their help and cooperation was acknowledged.
After the seminar, camel exhibitions were inaugurated. Later on, camel rides were made available for the kids, students, and families. The Faculty and staff also had camel rides across the Campus to appreciate the Camel utility for all purposes including milk, meat, riding, racing, pulling, and plowing. Later on, camel milking was shown to all participants, milk-soda was offered to the Faculty and guests. Some people tasted camel milk first time in their life and they enjoyed drinking camel milk.
A lot of media coverage was given by the FM Radio 100.4 of the Campus. Many TV Channels including Sohni Dharti, GEO, Express, and Dunya were present to cover all events of this Day. Print media also covered these day-long activities in their papers. Dr Muhammad Younas (Chairman Dep of Livestock Management, UAF), Prof Dr Muhammad Sarwar, Dean FAH, and Mr Mumtaz Khan Manais ex-Livestock Minister Govt of Punjab, spoke at this occasion and highlighted the camel attributes to different media channels.
The Camel souvenir like Camel Cap, Camel Shirts, and Camel Cups was displayed for the public interest. Many students, Faculty, and visitors liked the souvenirs prepared for this occasion. The Camel Shirts and Caps were prepared by the courtesy of Rao Abdul Qadeer from Bahawalpur, while Camel Cups were got prepared by the Dept of Livestock Management. All participants were offered lunch after the Juma prayer in the lobby of the Iqbal Auditorium.
The general body meeting of the CAP members was held at 4 pm after lunch in the New Senate Hall, UAF. All members of the CAP were invited to this meeting through email, notices, and announcements made at the WCD Seminar. The meeting was chaired by Dr Muhammad Iqbal Ashraf Mughal, DLF, Lahore. The main items on agenda were: (i) welcome and an overview of the CAP for the participants, (ii) approval of the minutes from the previous meeting, (iii) review of the CAP and World Camel Day activities, (iv) report from the committees (scientific, by-laws, etc.), (v) International Camel Conference (ICC) in Pakistan in 2013, (vi) venue of the next World Camel Day 2013, (vii) website of the CAP, (viii) raising membership and fee collection for the CAP, (ix) site for the International Camel Conference (ICC) in Pakistan, (x) filling of vacant posts in the CAP cabinet, and (xi) any other item or concern of the participants.
Some of the suggestions received from the members were (1) one member need to be taken from Gilgit & Baltistan, (2) representative of the progressive livestock farmers from the Cholistan, Thal, Tharparker, Balochistan, and Baltistan, (3) invitation to companies working in and across the country on R&D of Camel specie. A detailed SWOT analysis of the activities of the CAP was made and all inputs were honored. Scientific and By-Laws Committee progress was reviewed and the conveners were asked to expedite their work and report back to the president within two wks. Regarding the scientific committee, the progress was also slow, however, the Dept of Livestock Management has collected and published all related research material, books, handout, and articles throughout the country and given to all participant in their folders. The Scientific Committee was further asked to increase the contact with the camel herders to increase R&D on a camel and suggest some measures to be taken by CAP. The marketing Committee was asked to raise their voice against illegal and indiscrimination smuggling of the best camels from the country and create awareness about camel business for the best interest of the herders.
As the venue of the ICCP has been selected at IUB in Nov 2013 by the house, all members were asked to get ready and start preparing for this event and the representative of the IUB was asked to convene an inaugural meeting to start the related activities. The IUB should take a lead for the ICCP and CAP will help to use its resources for the success of this event. The issue of the website for CAP was also taken seriously and it was decided that the concerned committee has given its first draft and it is willing to accept all suggestions from the members. They will look forward to their suggestions to expedite the work. The monogram of the CAP has been revised and made available to all concerned. Dr Muhammad Lateef (Treasurer of the CAP) updated the house regarding the membership collection and he informed about the CAP account opening and handling.
Towards the end of the meeting, Dr M Ashraf Mughal briefed the house about his comments and appreciated the Dept of Livestock Management for taking this initiative on a camel and celebrating this WCD in a befitting manner. The next meeting of CAP was suggested after 6 months or so. The meeting ended with a word of thanks by the President CAP at 5 pm to all participants for making this event a great success.
These minutes were prepared through the courtesy of the president (Dr M Younas) as I was stuck in the celebrations of the World Camel Day at Lasbella University.
Sd/-
Dr Muhammad Younas
President
Dr Abdul Raziq Kakar
Secretary
World Camel Day at UAF, 22 June 2012
