Staff Reporter
LAHORE:Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif on Monday inaugurated the first-ever Electric Bus Project for Sahiwal and announced a series of landmark initiatives for the city and the entire division.
According to a handout issued here, the CM while addressing the inauguration ceremony, announced that 30 electric buses would be operated in Sahiwal city and 62 across the division, with free travel facilities for women, students, senior citizens, and persons with disabilities. For general passengers, the fare has been fixed at Rs. 20 per ride. She said the buses had been equipped with Wi-Fi, CCTV cameras, mobile charging ports, special ramps for differently-abled passengers, and separate compartments for women, making them a modern and comfortable mode of transport comparable to European standards.The CM also unveiled major health initiatives for the region, announcing the launch of an interventional cardiac surgery program at District Headquarters Hospital Sahiwal, where angiography and angioplasty procedures would now be available through a newly established Cath Lab. She remarked that Sahiwal residents would no longer need to travel to other cities for cardiac treatment, calling it a historic day for the people of the city.Addressing the larger vision of her government, Maryam Nawaz Sharif highlighted that she would not rest until every city in Punjab developed equally, noting that she chose to bring electric buses to Sahiwal even before Gujranwala, Rawalpindi, or Faisalabad. She further spoke about the government’s broader welfare agenda, which included providing a monthly ration card scheme worth Rs. 3,000 for 1.5 million individuals, the construction of 80,000 homes under the “Apni Chhat, Apna Ghar” program with 100,000 houses expected to be completed by December, and significant improvements in the education sector through teacher recruitment, construction of classrooms and bathrooms, as well as the distribution of scholarships and laptops to talented students.She also announced an agriculture support program aimed at the welfare of farmers, which included the issuance of Kisan Cards and the provision of free tractors. In healthcare, she reiterated that free medicines were being provided in government hospitals, with home delivery services also being launched. Clinic-on-Wheels and field hospitals, she added, were actively operating in flood-hit areas.The CM said that more than 28 million people had been evacuated and relocated to safer areas, while 2.2 million livestock were rescued. She announced a compensation package for flood victims, including Rs. 1 million for completely destroyed concrete houses, Rs. 500,000 for mud houses, Rs. 500,000 for the loss of large animals, Rs. 50,000 for small animals, and Rs. 20,000 per acre for crop damage. She said that no flood-affected citizen would be left unattended, stressing that her entire ministerial team worked tirelessly to provide relief.
