PM announces Rs 1 billion grant, mega development schemes for Jacobabad

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Friday announced a development grant of Rs 1 billion and mega development projects for Jacobabad.

The development projects for the district include electrification of villages, gas supply, women vocational training centre and a PASSCO centre.

“For me, Jacobabad is the most deserving city of development funds. If Islamabad, Lahore or any other developed city is given Rs1billion, Jacobabad deserves Rs2b. The people of Jacobabad should also look prosperous like those of Lahore and Islamabad,” the prime minister said addressing a huge public gathering.

He said the presence of such a huge crowd in scorching heat, proved that the people of Sindh had pinned great hopes at the PML-N as the provincial government had failed to cope with their needs.

The PM announced to provide 100 power transformers to cope with district’s needs besides committing to launch his health insurance card scheme without any delay to provide medical treatment from both government and private hospitals without any charges.

He said the approval in writing in this regard would also be given after returning to Islamabad. He also approved the demand of gas pipelines for Jacobabad.

Nawaz Sharif said the people of Sindh would feel a clear difference vis-a-vis development by the federal government and the one by the Sindh government.

“We are building motorways, even in Sindh. We are installing power plants. Time is about to come when the load shedding will be completely ended,” he resolved.

Earlier, addressing the charged crowd, Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafiq said the presence of thousands of the people did demonstrate their desire to get rid of the government of the feudal lords in Sindh.

Rafiq said it was only the PML-N leadership, not the PPP, which always came forward to support the flood-hit people of Sindh.

Referring to the Sindh chief minister’s warning to the federal government on gas supply issue, he said the Sindh government had 49 per cent share in Noori Abad Power Plant while a private owner [Asif Ali Zardari] had 51 per cent.

The railways minister said the PML-N would clean sweep the PPP in Sindh as the latter had launched green bus, water supply, motorways and other development projects in the province. He viewed that the development in Sindh did not suit the PPP leadership as the prosperity would pose a challenge to the rule of feudals.

He said Karachi had been turned into a heap of garbage, and questioned where the Rs45 billion development funds had gone that had been allocated for Jacobabad’s development.

The prime minister was accompanied by Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafiq, PML-N senior leader Ilahi Bakhsh Soomro, Senators Salim Zia and Raheela Magsi, Marvi Memon and Asif Kirmani.