LAHORE: Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar inaugurated the Gulab Devi Underpass and announced naming it after Abdul Sattar Edhi.
The full height three-lane underpass would ease the movement of 132,000 plus vehicles while Rs60 million had been saved through transparent tendering. The CM said that the facility would benefit the patients of Gulab Devi, Children, Social Security and General Hospital patients while accommodating the hundreds and thousands of citizens in their daily movement. Federal Minister and PTI Punjab President Shafqat Mahmood, Provincial Ministers Murad Raas, Mian Aslam Iqbal, Asad Khokhar, Ejaz Alam, parliamentarians, PTI leaders, Special Assistant to Chief Minister Hasaan Khawar, IG Police, Commissioner and DC Lahore, secretary information and others were also present.
Talking to the media, the CM said the Gulberg to Jail Road (Siddique Trade Center) flyover had also been named after poet Munir Niazi. The Abdul Sattar Edhi Underpass has been completed two months before the deadline for which LDA DG and governing body members deserve accolades, he added and pointed out that the ceremony had been held in the underpass to save public money. The Punjab government saved millions of rupees in every project by ensuring transparency, he asserted.The CM announced an elevated expressway project valuing Rs50 billion to facilitate the citizens of Lahore. Similarly, Rs6.50 billion would be spent to construct multilevel entry and exit points at Shahdara Morr to resolve traffic issue there, he added.
The LDA has, meanwhile, completed four major projects in Lahore with Rs2.45 billion, including the Lal Shehbaz Qalandar underpass, Bab-e-Lahore, elimination of traffic congestion points at major roads and construction of pedestrians' bridges at suitable places to ease public movement.Meanwhile, more than Rs9.16 billion were being spent to complete three major projects in the provincial metropolis, he said. An additional lane was being built at Lahore bridge near Children’s Hospital, Data Ganj Bakhsh flyover with Rs4.90 billion and Rs2.54 billion would be spent on Shahkam Chowk Flyover project, he added. Alongside, the expansion of Saggian Road will be completed with Rs3.40 billion and the main boulevard Gulberg to Walton Road Defence Chowk will be made a signal-free corridor with Rs3 billion. He added that an underpass and flyover at Karim Block, Iqbal Town would be built with Rs2.90 billion.
The CM pointed out that Orange Train project was also completed by the incumbent government by arranging necessary funding as like other incomplete projects of the previous government. The past government conceived projects without caring for the public welfare and subsidies to the tune of billions of rupees had to be given to run them, he lamented. The public transport scheme should have been finalised after proper study. Around billion of rupees were being given to six projects as subsidies, including orange line metro train, metro bus system and feeder route system, he said and pointed out the income of these projects was minimal.
Replying to the media, the CM explained that the PTI would perform well in the second phase of KPK’s LGs elections as the first phase had been completed. The LGs elections would be held in Punjab directly and the bill has been presented in the assembly.
The public representatives would be empowered and the government will perform well in Punjab, he said. To a question, he maintained that the volume of work done by Education Minister Murad Raas in his department in just three years was not done during the last 70 years. Murad Raas has introduced important changes like e-transfer, e-leave and e-pension while upgrading 1,500 schools; around 8,000 schools will be upgraded this financial year while a total of 27,000 schools would be upgraded in the next two years, he said. Meanwhile, the past government only upgraded 1,500 schools in a period of five years, he held. Lahore Technopolis was being established in Lahore over 790 acres of land to provide international quality technology, research-based education and high-tech manufacturing opportunities to the students, he said. This project would enjoy all incentives under the special technology zone act along with a tax remission for a period of 10 years.The CM pointed out that the past government wasted two billion over the knowledge park project without any delivery or performance.
To a question about Nawaz Sharif, the CM explained that anybody could come or go while the law would take its own course and everything would be done in accordance with the law. The allies are with us and nobody should be worried as everything is okay, he added and announced that the journey of development would be accelerated under the leadership of PM Imran Khan.
Federal Minister Shafqat Mahmood regretted that loot and plunder was the norm of the day in the past while CM Usman Buzdar has introduced the culture of transparency and development and his development projects are bringing ease in the people’s lives as Usman Buzdar was serving the masses with sincerity and commitment. Provincial Minister Murad Raas thanked the CM for resolving public problems.HEALTH SCHEMES: The chief minister said that the provision of the best healthcare system to the masses was a top agenda of the PTI government.
He expressed these views while chairing a meeting at his office to review progress on ongoing health schemes, which was attended by Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid, health secretaries and others.
During the meeting, the chief minister directed to early complete ongoing health projects so as to provide the best medical facilities to the people. He said that Naya Pakistan Health Card would be launched from Lahore Division in January and the facility would be extended to Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Multan, Bahawalpur, Gujranwala and Sargodha Divisions by March 31. He said that around Rs400 billion would be spent on universal health insurance programme in the next three years.
