LAYYAH: Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif visited Layyah and inaugurated development projects and laid the foundation stones of a number of new schemes.
Addressing a public gathering at Layyah’s Milad Chowk, the chief minister stated that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan “speaks lies day and night”. “When dengue spread in Peshawar, he escaped to the mountains of Nathia Gali instead of helping the people there, and when it attacked Lahore, he ridiculed us and taunted us as ‘dengue brothers’,” said the Punjab CM.
“When dengue attacked Peshawar, we sent medical teams, mobile hospital and best medicines there,” the chief minister said, adding that Imran Khan is a ‘liar’ and he also “lied about sowing one billion trees in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP)”.
Shehbaz went on to say that Imran remained unsuccessful in eliminating load shedding in KP and could not produce even a single megawatt of electricity.
He further stated that Imran Khan had previously announced that Punjab’s Metro Bus Service was a “jangla” bus service, which would not be built under his party’s provincial administration but now the KP government was following the model of Punjab and had started working on a similar project. He also criticised the PTI chief for failing to even start the Metro Bus project in Peshawar.
Criticising Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Punjab CM stated that Asif Zardari has launched a “corruption bazaar” in Sindh and that the funds of the entire province were being spent on Larkana alone.
Shehbaz said that both Imran and Zardari did not start any electricity generation projects in their provinces.
The chief minister announced setting up of a university and a technical college in Layyah besides announcing a special fund of Rs300 million each to make Layyah, Chobara and Chowk Azam as model cities.
The CM also launched the National Health Card Programme for 137,000 people along with four mobile health units for Layyah.
Shehbaz said that the latest CT scan machine has been installed at DHQ Hospital to provide round-the-clock facility. Similarly, mobile hospitals have been provided for latest treatment and diagnostic facilities to the people at their doorsteps.
On the other hand, high standard roads have been constructed in rural areas during the last five years and asphalt roads have been constructed in Layyah with an amount of Rs5 billion, the chief minister added.
“Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Muhammad Nawaz Sharif and I promised that we will change the destiny of the nation, and if we are accorded an opportunity in 2018, then we will transform Layyah as a developed city,” CM Shehbaz said.
He said that if his party is given an opportunity in future, it will develop Pakistan as a welfare state.
Talking about the plight of sugarcane farmers in Layyah, the CM said that the managers of sugar mills involved in injustice to the farmers are already behind bars. He added that one of those includes a mill of his relatives as well.
The chief minister also inaugurated Children’s Ward in Layyah DHQ Hospital, constructed at a cost of Rs105 million. He also handed over keys of 75 ambulances and four hospital-waste management vehicles to the local administration.
CM Shehbaz also said that health insurance scheme is being introduced in 13 more districts by the Punjab government through indigenous resources. “Registered families can get daily treatment facility of up to Rs50,000 through health card, while in case of any chronic disease, the amount can be increased to Rs300,000,” he added.
He also laid the foundation of Layyah-Chowk Azam dual carriageway which will be constructed with the cost of Rs3.97 billion and the first phase will be completed in June. Furthermore, he also laid the foundation of mega drainage project of Rs300 million for Layyah, projects of Nullah Lallah Head Regulatory, 29-Km long embankment from Bait Monger to Bhakkar and five spurs projects.
Punjab Ministers Khawaja Salman Rafiq, Mehar Ijaz Ahmad Achlana, members of provincial and national assembly belonging to Layyah and a large number of people were also present on the occasion.
