LAHORE:Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar inaugurated the Gulab Devi Underpass and announced to name it after Abdul Sattar Edhi.
The full height three-lane underpass would ease the movement of 132000 plus vehicles while sixty million rupees had been saved through transparent tendering.
On the occasion, the CM said the facility would also 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.
He said that the Abdul Sattar Edhi underpass had been completed two months before the deadline for which Lahore Development Authority (LDA) Director General and governing body members deserve accolades. “The Punjab government has also saved millions of rupees in every project by ensuring transparency”, he added.
Usman Buzdar also announced an elevated expressway project valuing 50 billion to facilitate the citizens of Lahore. Similarly, Rs. 6.50 billion would be spent to construct multilevel entry and exit points at Shahdara Morr to resolve traffic congestion there, he added.
He said that the LDA has completed four major projects in Lahore with 2.45 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, adding that more than 9.16 billion rupees were being spent to complete three major projects in the provincial metropolis.
He said that an additional lane was being built at Lahore bridge near children hospital, Data Ganj Bakhsh flyover with 4.90 billion and 2.54 billion would be spent on Shahkam Chowk Flyover project, adding that the expansion of Sagian Road would be completed with 3.40 billion and the main boulevard Gulberg to Walton Road Defense Chowk would be made a signal-free corridor with three billion rupees.
He added that an underpass and flyover at Karim block Iqbal Town would be built with 2.90 billion.
The chief minister pointed out that the orange line metro 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 welfare of the people and subsidies to the tune of billions of rupees had to be given to run them, he lamented.
He said that the public transport scheme should have been finalized after proper study, adding that around billion of rupees were being given to six projects as subsidies including orange line metro train, metro bus system and feeder route system but he said that on the other hand, the income of these projects was minimal.
Replying to questions of the media, the CM explained that the PTI would perform well in the second phase of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s local bodies’ elections as the first phase had been completed, adding that the local bodies elections would be held in Punjab directly and the bill had been presented in the assembly. “The public representatives would be empowered and the government will perform well in Punjab”, he added.
To another question, Usman Buzdar maintained that the volume of work done by Punjab Minister for Education Murad Raas in his department in just three years was not done during the last 70 years, asserting that Murad Raas has introduced important changes like e-transfer, e-leave and e-pension while upgrading 1500 schools. As many as 8000 schools would be upgraded during this financial year while a total of 27,000 schools would be upgraded in the next two years, while the past government only upgraded 1500 schools in a period of five years, he held.
He said that 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, adding that this project would enjoy all incentives under the special technology zone act along with a tax remission for a period of ten 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, Usman Buzdar 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 Prime Minister 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 were bringing ease in the lives of the common man as Usman Buzdar was serving the masses with sincerity and commitment. Provincial Minister Murad Raas thanked the CM for resolving public problems.
DG LDA also spoke on the occasion.