Sindh Information and Transport Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon on Wednesday appreciated that the Yutong Master Company has established its presence in the province, saying that the provincial government would purchase all the buses manufactured at their plant so that the network of the Peoples Bus Service can be expanded in the region.
During the bus launch and key handover ceremony held at a hotel, he was presented with the key to a diesel-electric hybrid bus by representatives of the Yutong Master Bus Company.
Memon said on the occasion that Pakistan’s former president Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah have given special instructions to the provincial officials concerned to improve the public transport services in all cities and districts of the province.
He emphasised the importance of effective measures to enhance the service quality of the public transport carriers. He pointed out that Sindh is the first province in the country to introduce an electric bus service, which has received global recognition, while a pink bus service has also been launched exclusively for women.
He said that the provincial government is fully committed to bringing the latest buses to the public transport sector to provide affordable, comfortable and modern travel facilities to the working class. He noted that the passenger fare of the Peoples Bus Service is cheaper than travelling on a motorbike. Regarding the recent incidents of vandalism and arson against the Peoples Bus Service vehicles, Memon said that these acts were a deliberate conspiracy to deprive the public of their new transport facilities and squander the taxpayers’ money.
He assured that those responsible for damaging the buses would be held accountable for their misdeeds in accordance with the law. He stressed that the buses serve the people belonging to the working class, not those residing in palatial houses like the Bani Gala residence of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan.
As for the investment prospects in Sindh, Memon assured prospective investors in the transport sector of security guarantees, and expressed confidence that incidents like the recent acts of vandalism targeting buses would not happen in future.
Responding to queries from journalists, the information minister criticised the PTI, saying that the party is like an artificially inflated balloon, as people injected into the PTI are now leaving the party.
He said that PTI MNAs and MPAs themselves were involved in the violent incidents of May 9, so legal action would be taken against the accused individuals. The minister told the media that there is an issue related to the illegal occupation of land involving the opposition leader in the provincial assembly, saying that the land would be reclaimed by the government.
He said a bus depot for the transport department would be constructed there. He added that additional bus depots would be built in the city on suitable land according to the requirements of the public transport systems.
Memon concluded by saying that it is time to put an end to the culture of misconduct, and to start promoting the values of mutual respect, politeness and cultural values among the masses.
