SARGODHA (Dunya News) – Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif on Friday inaugurated the electric bus project in Sargodha, under which senior citizens and students will be able to travel free of cost.
At the inauguration ceremony, the CM said that in Pakistan it has been a tradition to begin development and major projects from big cities, where progress used to both start and end. Now, development will begin from smaller cities and spread across the whole country.
The CM said that on her first visit to hospitals in Sargodha, she was saddened to learn that the entire city had no heart hospital.
She announced that the Sargodha Nawaz Sharif Institute of Cardiology has started functioning today and will soon become fully operational. She added that she has arranged for specialists from across Punjab to be posted in Sargodha, so now heart patients will not need to travel to Faisalabad or Lahore for treatment. She further said that next month she will request Nawaz Sharif to personally inaugurate the Sargodha Nawaz Sharif Institute of Cardiology.
She pointed out that Sargodha never had a proper public transport system, which was distressing to see, as passengers were often forced to sit on the roofs of buses and women had to travel in great discomfort. People of Sargodha were compelled to rely on broken and inadequate transport. The Chief Minister said that today she has brought a modern, dignified, and comfortable mode of travel for the people. She explained that the electric buses have a separate section for women with CCTV cameras installed, and that special persons, women, senior citizens, and students will be able to travel completely free of cost.
The CM also shared that yesterday she launched the electric bus service in Mianwali, which brought great joy to the people, who celebrated the gift of new buses. She noted that earlier the fare from Bhera to Sargodha on broken-down buses was Rs. 200, but now the fare will be only Rs. 20.
Speaking about the floods, the CM said that Punjab faced the worst flood in its history. India released water into Pakistan, which caused flooding in three rivers. She said, “Your Chief Minister was awake,” explaining that the devastating flood affected 27 cities and 5,000 villages. She added that if her government had not remained alert, the damages could have been much greater. A total of 2.5 million people were rescued and shifted to safe places, while food and medicines for 10,000 people were delivered in each truck. Hundreds of thousands of animals were also rescued and moved to safer areas.
She stressed that Punjab is a province where not only humans but also animals are valued. She announced the largest relief package in Pakistan’s history, under which families whose homes were completely destroyed will receive Rs. 1 million each, those with partially damaged homes will receive Rs. 500,000, those who lost large animals such as cattle will receive Rs. 500,000, and those who lost goats or sheep will be given Rs. 50,000.
She assured the people that she will not rest until every last flood-affected person is resettled in their home.