Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif presided over a high-level meeting which reviewed public welfare projects especially infrastructure development projects.
The meeting decided to extend the route of Lahore Metro Bus Project from Shahdara to Rachna Town.
Addressing the meeting, Sharif said modern infrastructure is essential for strengthening economy and promoting trade activities. He said the Punjab government is spending billions of rupees for the improvement of infrastructure in the province. He said timely and quality completion of infrastructure development projects for facilitating the masses is the policy of Punjab government and every penny of public money is being spent on infrastructure development projects honestly.
The chief minister said the Punjab government is also paying special attention to provision of modern infrastructure in rural areas besides cities. He said metro bus system is being highly appreciated by the masses and hundreds of thousands of people are benefitting from this latest transport system daily. He said that in view of importance of metro bus system, it has been decided to extend the route of Lahore Metro Bus from Shahadra to Rachna Town. He said extension of Metro Bus route by five kilometers will benefit a large number of people.
Sharif directed that the project should be completed within stipulated period. He said that there will be substantial improvement in the flow of traffic with the completion of GT Road Expressway project. He said all-out measures should be taken for the completion of project before the timeline. He said there should not be any delay in the public welfare projects. Director General Frontier Works Organisation Muhammad Afzal, chairman Planning and Development, secretary finance, Commissioner Lahore Division, DG Lahore Development Authority and senior officials attended the meeting.
Meanwhile, prominent singer and founder of Zindgi Trust Shehzad Roy met Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif. He informed the chief minister about the efforts made by the trust for the provision of educational facilities to resource-less children.
The chief minister while speaking on the occasion said that education is the key to success and the aim of progress and prosperity of the country can be realised only through promotion of education. He said the Punjab government has adopted a solid strategy for the development of education sector on solid foundations and a comprehensive reforms programme is being implemented in education sector.
He said the government has adopted effective strategy for promoting education throughout the province. He said the government is giving top priority to equipping the children of resource-less families with education and special measures have been taken for this purpose.
Sharif said that Danish Schools have been set up for the provision of free of cost quality education to the children of the poorest families of far-flung and backward areas. He said not only free of cost educational facilities but boarding and lodging facilities are also available to these children in Danish schools.
He said that Danish schools are playing an important role in controlling the trend of extremism in the society. The chief minister said that modern education is imparted to the students of these schools with the help of smart boards. He said opportunities of quality education have been made available to the children of poorest of the poor families through Danish school system.
The chief minister further said that Punjab Education Endowment Fund is another revolutionary step for the promotion of education. He said that through this fund, education is being provided to 100,000 talented children of such families who were facing financial constraints and these students are studying at prestigious education institutions.
He said an important feature of this educational fund is that besides Punjab, talented and deserving students of Azad Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan and other provinces of Pakistan are also benefiting from it which has promoted national solidarity. He said the Punjab government has laid the foundation of a revolution in education sector through solid measures for promotion of education. He appreciated the efforts of Zindgi Trust for providing educational facilities to the children of low-income families. Shehbaz Roy appreciated the measures taken by Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif for the promotion of education. He said that the steps taken by the Punjab government for uplift of education sector will leave a far-reaching impact.