–Railway Station Shelter Home project inaugurated instead of Data Sahib due to security risk
–Ceremony organised at eleventh-hour results in provincial ministers being locked out, nearby stores, hotels being shut without notice
LAHORE: The Lahore Development Authority (LDA) has gotten inaugurated by Prime Minister Imran Khan a project, the tender of which is yet to be awarded, Pakistan Today has learnt.
As per the details, the premier on Saturday laid the foundation stone of a shelter home project near the Lahore Railway Station for the down-and-out segments of society who spend nights on the streets under the open sky.
An advertisement for the tender of the project was published in newspapers in October and the tender opening is scheduled for next week, but the ground was surprisingly excavated as part of the inaugural ceremony, sources told this scribe.
Speaking to Pakistan Today, LDA spokesperson Sohail Janjua also confirmed that the tender was published in newspapers on October 30, while the tender opening is due on the 14th of November.
When asked as to why was a “tender-less” project inaugurated by the prime minister, sources said that inauguration of the shelter home near the railway station was organised because the authorities, on the eleventh-hour, decided to hold it instead of the pre-planned groundbreaking ceremony of the Data Sahib Shelter Home near the Sufi saint’s shrine.
“The [ground breaking] ceremony of Data Sahib Shelter Home was scheduled for Saturday but the prime minister did not get security clearance for the area. Instead, the Railway Station Shelter Home inauguration was organised in a haphazard manner,” sources said, alleging that the bureaucrats, in a bid to pretend that “all is good”, misled the prime minister into inaugurating a different project.
Speaking of the “security reasons”, sources hinted at the recently-held demonstrations by Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) against Aasia Bibi’s acquittal.
The change in venue resulted in mismanagement on a large scale and all nearby shops, restaurants, hotels and markets were closed by the security personnel, which became a grave concern for the traders and locals of the area, they added.
‘MINISTER LOCKED OUT’:
Sources also said that the shelter homes are a social welfare project, however, Social Welfare Minister Muhammad Ajmal Cheema was nowhere to be found and Punjab Minister for Education Murad Ras had to struggle to reach the ceremony amid strict security measures.
“Most of the provincial ministers, despite being invited to the ceremony, were absent which has raised several questions on their non-serious attitude,” they said and added that the project was launched by the Punjab government but it seemed as if it was “hijacked” by the federal bureaucracy and ministers, who managed the entire event.
Pakistan Today learnt that five shelter homes are to be built at different locations in the provincial capital, which include Data Sahib, Railway Station, Lari Adda, Badami Bagh and Sabzi Mandi.
The LDA spokesperson also told this scribe that four shelter homes will have the capacity to accommodate as many as 120 persons while one would accommodate around 140 people.
CLOSURE OF ROADS:
Meanwhile, a couple of major roads in Lahore were blocked during PM Khan’s visit to the metropolis.
Despite PM Khan’s pledge of putting an end to VVIP protocols across the country, the premier was given protocol with many roads, particularly the Mall Road, being blocked for security reasons.
A video widely shared on Twitter showed the premier’s motorcade that included BMW SUVs, putting the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government’s austerity claims to shame.
