RECORDER REPORT

LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has granted approval to 30-km long metro bus project for the Multan city to be constructed at a cost of Rs 30 billion.

The project will be completed in a record period of one year and its foundation stone will be laid on August 14. The Multan Metro Bus system will be constructed on the pattern of Dubai Metro Bus project.

The Chief Minister was given a briefing at a high-level meeting held at the Multan Circuit House on Thursday regarding two possible routes of the metro bus upon which he directed implementation of the project on both the routes. More than 1.5 lakh people of the city will benefit from this project daily and it will be completed in a period of one year.

The Chief Minister formally announced to grant the status of big city to Multan.

The Chief Minister said that the Metro Bus was a gift for the people of Multan which will not only usher in an era of progress and prosperity but job opportunities will also be created as a result of investment of billions of rupees.

He said that the Metro Bus will add beauty to Multan while modern but economical travelling facilities will also become available to employees, students, labourers, teachers, lawyers, doctors and women. He said that the PC-1 of the project will be prepared in July and foundation stone of Multan Metro Bus project will be laid on August 14. He said that the project to be completed in a record period of one year will be different from the projects executed during the tenure of pervious government as it will be completely transparent.

He said the feasibility report of the project will be completed in July after which construction will immediately be started.

Shahbaz Sharif said the modern landscaping would be carried out underneath the flyovers to be built on the route of Metro Bus and it would be designed and decorated in accordance with the traditional culture of Multan which will add to the beauty of the city. He directed members of National and provincial assemblies to personally supervise the construction work on the route of metro Bus in their respective constituencies and announced that public representative who will show the best performance will be recommended by him to the Prime Minister for the award of Tamgha-e-Imtiaz.

He said in order to facilitate the people of localities surrounding the Metro Bus route, feeder buses would be started to different Metro Bus stations. He said the system of feeder buses would be started simultaneously with the main project. Shahbaz Sharif also announced setting up of a committee comprising two MNAs and three MPAs which will look after the matters pertaining to the Metro Bus project. He said the flyovers already constructed on the route of the Metro Bus will be widened and special attention will be paid to maintaining their strength as there were doubts about standard of construction of the flyovers built in the past.

Earlier, the Chief Minister inspected the proposed routes of the Metro Bus.

During a meeting to review law and order situation, the Punjab Chief Minister directed divisional and district officers of the Punjab police to hold monthly meetings on regular basis for improving the situation and positive proposals presented in the meetings should be implemented. He warned that any district officer of police who will not hold monthly meeting will be exiled from Punjab.

He said he was personally appointing RPOs, CCPOs and DPOs after thorough scrutiny and his selection has proved to be correct in 95 percent cases. However, he said, he was surprised that in spite of posting good officers there has not been any change in the police system and the staff at police station level was not mending its ways. The Chief Minister also took notice of the cases of kidnapping for ransom and issued instructions for curbing such incidents. After visit to Multan, the Chief Minister went to Muzaffargarh and presided over a meeting at the Tayyip Erdogan Hospital to review various development projects. Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister said that development projects were being completed on priority in South Punjab and sense of deprivation in the people of this region will be removed through provision of modern health and education facilities. He said that more funds have been provided for the uplift of South Punjab than the expectations of the people.

The Chief Minister announced to make Tayyip Erdogan Hospital in Muzaffargarh as a 500-bed hospital. He said that patients from Karachi, Lahore and Multan would also come to this state of the art hospital due to its best treatment facilities. The Tayyip Erdogan hospital will become operational this month and all medical facilities will be available in the hospital. Turk doctors and other staff will extend services in this hospital for one year. Extension work of the hospital will start during the current financial year and a sum of two billion rupees will be allocated for this purpose in the new budget. He said that international level medical facilities will be available in the hospital without any charge and all its system will be computerized. He said that the hospital will be made a model teaching hospital of the country. He said the standard of Amina Erdogan Girls School will be upto the level of Karachi Grammar School. The Chief Minister also granted approval to gas supply to Amina Erdogan Daanish Care Girls High School and said that this project will cost an amount of four crore 40 lakh rupees. He said that instead of generators, solar panels be set up in the school so that uninterrupted supply of electricity could be available to the girl students.

Secretary Education Abdul Jabbar Shaheen in a briefing informed Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif that Ameena Erdogan Daanish Care Girls School will be run by Daanish School Authority and Care Foundation. Initially, classes of nursery and 6-grade will be started from September this year. The average expenditure on a student will be from 10 to 15 thousand per month and uniform as well as other facilities will be provided to the girl students free of cost.