LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has inaugurated a new sanitation fleet for all districts under the Suthra Punjab Program. “The dream has come true… this is Suthra Punjab,” she said as she launched the world’s largest Solid Waste Management Program designed to serve 15 crore people across the province.
She inaugurated a new sanitation fleet for all districts of Punjab, providing 700 state-of-the-art waste management vehicles and machines to improve cleanliness and environmental sustainability. She unveiled the Suthra Punjab Book and officially launched the Suthra Punjab website. She handed over keys of the new sanitation fleet to the chief secretary and commissioners. In a symbolic gesture of solidarity, she wore a sanitary worker’s jacket to express solidarity with the sanitary staff. The chief minister inspected newly-procured modern machinery at the Fortress Stadium including high-pressure jetting machines for deep sewer cleaning, sewer suction units, de-silting machines for clearing blockages, winching machines for removing solid waste and advanced tractor-trolleys for rapid waste transfer. The event also featured a documentary film and a theme song highlighting the vision of Suthra Punjab, along with an engaging storytelling session depicting its journey towards making cleaner, greener Punjab.
On Maryam’s direction, Punjab is conducting the largest flood survey in its history. Survey teams have been mobilized across flood-affected areas, reaching homes of flood victims by using boats and tractor trolleys in 27 districts across Punjab. More than 2,200 survey teams are actively collecting data, along with traveling by motorcycle and on foot to reach flood victims in remote areas. So far, data of more than 162,000 flood-affected individuals has been collected. Details of 45,999 damaged houses have been recorded, while more than 500,000 acres of affected agricultural lands have been identified. Survey teams have also documented loss of 6,921 livestock across various districts in the province. The CM has appealed to flood victims to provide accurate information to the survey teams and directed that every flood-affected person must be provided access to inform survey teams about their losses. Earlier, Maryam announced a series of major initiatives during her address at the Suthra Punjab ceremony. She launched a Ration Card program for 150,000 sanitation workers, appreciating their hard work for keeping Punjab clean and green. She commended sanitation workers for their remarkable service during floods, noting that they formed human chains to protect people and their property, even though carrying out such rescue operations was not part of their duties.
She emphasized that 150,000-member Suthra Punjab team is the largest of its kind across the globe. She lauded ongoing flood relief efforts and role of volunteers, noting that previously only a few cities had limited sanitation coverage, while most of Punjab unfortunately lacked proper waste management system. She stated: “Now, every district is receiving modern cleaning machinery. The entire province will have a state-of-the-art Suthra Punjab system within a year.” As much as 35,000 machinery equipment and millions of containers for waste collection are available across Punjab.
She announced that the Punjab government is awarding scholarships and laptops to talented students so that no hindrance occurs for their studies. She claimed that the crime rate in Punjab has now dropped to zero per cent. She asserted: “Those who harass women are arrested within 24 hours. I am cleaning not only Punjab’s streets but also minds of those who feel jealous about its progress. If I do not speak for the people of Punjab, who will? A revolution of development and cleanliness has begun in the entire province. I want to see Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa clean and developed too. If roads are in a dilapidated condition, food is expensive and streets are dirty, the people have every right to hold their respective governments accountable.”