PM announces mega development schemes for Hyderabad

HYDERABAD: Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif ON Monday announced the establishment of a university, launch of his Healthcare Insurance Scheme, an international airport and metro bus service for Hyderabad city.

Addressing a jam-packed gathering of enthusiastic workers at a party convention here, the prime minister also announced Rs 500 million for the development and upgradation of the Hyderabad city.

He said Hyderabad would be linked soon to the rest of the country with a network of six-lane motorways, providing speedy access.

Announcing an initial grant of Rs 1,000 million for the university, the prime minister also directed the PASSCO to increase its purchase of wheat crop from Sindh from previous 80,000 tonnes to 100,000 tonnes.

The prime minister was generous to accept the party leaders' demand of providing electricity to as many villages as needed, besides providing supply of Sui gas to the area.

He assured the residents of Hyderabad that survey teams would soon visit the city for data collection and then he along with programme in-charge Maryam Nawaz would come there to hand over health cards to the needy.

He urged the people to question the previous rulers for their apathy towards projects like extension of motorway from Lahore to Karachi and launching of more power projects to cope with growing electricity needs.

He apologized to the workers, who had to return without hearing him owing to the shortage of space at the venue and assured them that he would again visit them keeping in view their enthusiasm and passion.

"Pakistan is changing. A new Pakistan is in the making," the prime minister said and added that the government had broken the back of terrorists and peace was returning in Karachi with business activity reviving and labourers working in a peaceful atmosphere.

He said Hyderabad had also been purged of terrorists, who were now on the run.

The prime minister reiterated his resolve to eliminate the menace of terrorism in toto. He said peace was also restoring in Balochistan where a vast network of roads was being developed under China Pakistan Economic Corridor.

The prime minister said the country would soon get rid of unemployment, poverty and illiteracy, and medical treatment facilities would be made affordably available for everyone owing to massive development going on under CPEC.

He said Hyderabad would also benefit from that development as the city had earlier been deprived of clean drinking water with its road infrastructure in a shambles.

He said economic zones would also be developed throughout the country, besides establishing colleges and universities.

The prime minister said today heaps of garbage and pollution featured the Karachi city and recalled its previous condition when there had been complete peace with massive economic activities taking place.

Peace was again returning to Karachi as investors were back to hold their business meetings there which had earlier been switched to Dubai due to law and order situation there, he added.

Nawaz Sharif said the motorway network could not be expanded from Lahore since 1999; however his government took up the task and motorways were being built throughout the country.

He said the loadshedding had been remarkably decreased and reiterated his resolve to eliminate it completely by next year.

Copyright APP (Associated Press of Pakistan), 2017