CM Says Rehabilitation Of Flood Victims Top Priority

HYDERABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 12th May, 2024) Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has said Pakistan Peoples Party's (PPP's) Sindh Government on the directions of PPP's Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has started to take the workers' input to plan the development schemes in the upcoming budget.

Addressing a press conference at Hyderabad Press Club on Sunday he reiterated that rehabilitation of the 2022 flood victims and construction of 2.1 million houses is the priority of  Bilawal.

He recalled that Bilawal had given a clear agenda in the election manifesto which was being currently implemented by the provincial government.

Shah compared the 2022 rains and floods with 2010 floods and observed that the former wreaked more havoc than the earlier floods.

He told that 100,000 homes for flood victims had been built so far while another 500,000 were in the process of construction as the government had promised to construct 2.1 million homes.

The CM said the PPP's chairman had also given instructions to provide clean drinking water to every single home in the province by the end of the 5-year tenure of the incumbent government.

He noted that the filtered water requirement in Hyderabad had surged to 120 million gallons per day (MGD) while the district's existing filtration plants could hardly supply half of the required water.

Shah assured that his government would solve that problem soon. He credited his government for continuously expanding the tertiary and specialized healthcare projects in the province like by opening satellite centers of National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) in many cities.

The CM told that 60,000 teachers have been recruited and their training was in the final stage while the Department of Agriculture was working on the Kissan Cards and the Labour Department was issuing  the Labor Cards.

Shah said his government was working to materialize the PPP Chairman's pledge of providing free electricity up to 300 units through solar power generation.

According to him, the work of laying a railway line to bring coal from Tharparkar would also start soon.He apprised that the provincial government was establishing an export processing zone in the province.

With regard to the establishment of a housing society for journalists of Hyderabad, the CM said the land for the society had already been allotted while clear instructions had been given to Sindh Local Government Minister Saeed Ghani for the development.

Responding to a question, Shah acknowledged that though the action against drug peddlers targeting the students might be falling short of achieving the desired results, the government was strongly committed to protecting children and their future.

He told that a number of drug peddlers had been arrested during the operation which started over a month ago in the province.

He asked the parents to fulfill their responsibility by ensuring that their children were not taking drugs.When questioned about the change of Governor in Sindh, he replied that it was discretion of the Federal government to change the Governor or to allow the incumbent to continue in the office.

Shah said the PPP wanted to work with every opposition party including Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P).

Commenting on the incidents of kidnappings and robberies in the districts of Larkana and Sukkur divisions, the CM said the bandits and their activities began to surge during the last days of the Sindh government in 2023 and their crimes attained peak during the caretaker setup.

"Today's dacoits are so cowardly that they even kidnap children," he observed, saying that the dacoits were spineless people who hid in forests.

Shah vowed to crush the bandits saying his government was taking action against them in a determined way.

Replying to a query about slow pace of certain development schemes especially those pertaining to the roads and highway, the CM said he had held a meeting with the Chairman National Highway Authority (NHA) in which Karachi-Hyderabad Motorway and Sukkur-Hyderabad Motorway were discussed.

He told that the NHA would utilize funds from China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects to complete the motorways.The CM was accompanied by PPP Sindh's President Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, General Secretary Waqar Mehdi, provincial ministers Sharjeel Inam Memon, Nasir Shah and Jam Khan Shoro.