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Tuesday March 19, 2024

Centre to run Green Line for three years before handing the bus service over to Sindh: Imran Ismail

By Our Correspondent
November 13, 2019

Sindh’s governor said on Tuesday that desalination plants were being set up and they would help overcome the shortage of water across Karachi to some extent.

Imran Ismail was responding to a question while talking to the media after launching the 10th vintage car rally of the Vintage & Classic Car Club of Pakistan at the Governor House. On another query about the Green Line bus service, Ismail said that there were technical issues in the project that had been fixed in collaboration with the Government of Sindh.

The Green Line bus project would be run for three years by the federal government, following which the responsibilities would be transferred to the provincial government for seven years. Ismail also said that the opening of the Kartarpur Corridor would increase religious tourism in Pakistan.

He added that Prime Minister Imran Khan’s vision was to promote tourism across the country. The governor claimed that there was good news in the offing regarding the country’s economic situation, saying that in this regard the State Bank was working to benefit the exporters.

Attracting tourists Ismail said the trend of preserving vintage and classic vehicles would also be important in attracting tourists. Some 22 different types of beautiful, rare and ancient cars are taking part in the journey of vintage car rally from Karachi to Swat.

All the vehicles would be put on display after they reach Bahawalpur on November 15. The governor said the vintage car rally would play an important role in showing the positive image of Pakistan to the world.

Mohsin Ikram, founder and chairman of the car club, said on the occasion that they had been holding car rallies across the country for the past several years.

He said the rally of historical vehicles would help highlight the importance of inter-provincial harmony and historical heritage, which would help demonstrate the bright side of the country to other nations.

Ikram said the car rally was unique and one of a kind, adding that rare cars of different types were taking part in the event. Thanking Ismail, he said the rally was started with the Sindh governor’s help from the historic Governor House.

Potable water

The governor presided over a high-level meeting at the Governor House. The meeting decided to set up a desalination plant for the conversion of sea water into potable water in the Defence Housing Authority (DHA) neighbourhoods under a public-private partnership.

Ismail appreciated the efforts made in this regard. The phase-wise delivery of five million gallons of water a day would be possible in the next two and a half years under the desalination plant project.

The meeting was attended by Member National Assembly Aftab Siddiqui, Members Provincial Assembly Shehzad Qureshi and Khurrum Sher Zaman, DHA Administrator Brig Abrar H Bhatti and others.

Economic targets

During his visit to the head office of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) in Karachi, Ismail met SBP Governor Dr Reza Baqir and said the government was close to achieving its economic targets, which was a good omen.

The Sindh governor said that stabilising the economy was a challenge that was achieved by the PM’s economic team. He said that strengthening the national economy also led to improving the image of the country across the globe.

Dr Baqir said the State Bank was playing a vital role in national development. The meeting also discussed issues of national economy, economic policy and reforms, proposals of the business community and other important matters.