Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah on Saturday said that betterment in health and education sectors were the top most priorities of the provincial government and efforts were underway to complete ongoing projects on time.
The chief minister said this during the inauguration ceremony of a private wing (ward) of Karachi Institute of Heart Diseases (KIHD), Karachi. Minister for Local Bodies Syed Nasir Hussain Shah, Administrator Karachi Metropolitan Corporation Sajjad Hussain, Metropolitan Commissioner Samiuddin Siddiqui, Director Health Dr Salma Kausar and other medical staff were also present.
The CM said that a private ward had been established at KIHD under public-private partnership. He said that the health delivery system would be improved in institution with opening of new private wards in healthcare.
He said the provincial government had allocated Rs 13 billion for health and Rs 11 billion for education sector in order to improve patient care and education standard in the province. He said the number of medical universities had also been increased in the province including Karachi.
He expelled the impression that the PPP-led provincial government was not interested in carrying out development work in Karachi and the city issues were being neglected by the government. “My whole life has passed in Karachi. How can I ignore it?” he wondered.
He said the provincial government had allocated Rs 64 billion for development projects of Karachi this year while PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had also announced Rs 150 billion special package for the city.
Sindh Provincial Minister for Local Bodies Syed Nasir Hussain Shah announced that the clean Karachi drive would be launched across the city soon. He said the provincial government had also released fund for clean Karachi drive.
Senior Director Health & Medical Services Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) Dr Salma Kausar said that a private wing at KHID had been opened the and ward comprises of 48 rooms, two ICUs and five angiography machines where open heart surgeries would be carried out by the doctors. She said 24 rooms of a private ward had been made functional initially and the aim of opening ward was to generate more revenue for the institution.