Sindh senior minister Sharjeel Inam Memon on Wednesday said the transport department is consistently working to improve travel facilities across the province, and residents would hear more good news soon.
Memon said the government has expanded the Pink Bus service to support women. Pink buses have begun operating from Numaish to the Surjani station of Green Line, and soon pink buses will also run on the Edhi Orange Line, he added. He said that the chief ministers of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have also been asked to introduce similar services for women in their respective provinces.
Speaking to the media at the launch of the special Pink Bus service for women on the Green Line route, the senior minister, who also holds the portfolio for information and transport & mass transit, said that special bikes are being prepared for children with disabilities, and would be provided for free.
He said the distribution process for these bikes would be completed through daily meetings. Providing facilities to every segment of society is a shared responsibility, and the transport department is working with this goal in mind, he added.
He also said double-decker buses would arrive in the province next week, and would first operate on Sharea Faisal. New routes for them will be introduced if needed, he added. Memon said that new buses are being introduced as pilot projects on the corridor and bus rapid transit systems, and they have received positive feedback from the public.
He said that outstanding issues have been settled with the Asian Development Bank. An open briefing on transport projects will be held in Karachi, with all political parties and stakeholders present, he added.
He also said the Sindh government is providing free fertiliser to farmers, and wheat cultivation would increase through subsidies. Under the vision of Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, house ownership rights for two million flood-affected people have been granted to women, he added.
The minister said the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) was also launched to support women’s economic independence. He noted that President Asif Ali Zardari had initiated the BISP.
He said families did not use to be targeted in politics, adding that personal attacks on family members are inappropriate. Faryal Talpur was arrested in false cases and moved from a hospital to jail on Chandraat, he added, stressing that women from all political parties deserve respect.
He also said equality and uniformity have been strengthened through constitutional amendments. Criticism of these amendments is unwarranted, as major bar associations have supported them, he added.
Memon said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had promised to provide buses to Sindh, and should now fulfil that commitment. The Sindh government is working for all segments of society, and will continue improving the transport sector, he added.
