Saaf Pani Project: All Punjab areas to get safe drinking water, says Shahbaz

80 Water Filtration Plants have been installed in five tehsils of south Punjab

LAHORE: More than 80 water filtration plants have been installed in five South Punjab tehsils under the Saaf Pani Project, Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said on Saturday.

He was chairing a meeting to review the implementation of the Saaf Pani Project.

“People of Lodhran, Khanpur, Hasilpur, Duniyapur and Minchanabad are getting clean drinking water through the water filtration plants now. The government has allocated Rs30 billion for the project in 2016-17 financial year. The project is directly related to health of hundreds of thousands of people. People have a right to access clean drinking water,” he said.

He said the project would be extended to six more districts of south Punjab soon. He said that international companies would be selected through a transparent process for the project.

The CM said that all steps would be taken to ensure that millions of people living in rural areas had access to clean drinking water. He said steps should also be taken to increase the capacity of Saaf Pani Company.

Minister for Housing Tanveer Aslam Malik and the Saaf Pani Company chairman also attended the meeting.

Visits

The chief minister visited the Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif Hospital on Bedian Road, and the Bedian Ramazan Bazaar on Saturday.

The CM inspected the pharmacy, blood bank and gynecology ward of the hospital. He asked patients about the medical facilities being provided to them. The patients told CM that they were being provided treatment and medicines free of cost. They thanked the chief minister for establishing the hospital in that area.

Speaking to doctors and the nursing staff, Shahbaz Sharif said he was happy to see that patients were getting good medical treatment.

The CM praised the staff on duty at the blood bank. The CM said another refrigerator would be provided to the hospital to store blood.

At the Ramazan Bazaar, the CM asked the customers about the quality of the products. “The government is spending a large amount of funds on providing subsidy on essential commodities in Ramazan Bazaars,” he said.

The chief minister inspected the stalls of sugar and flour and inquired from the people about their quality.

The shoppers informed the CM about the quality and prices of essential commodities in the bazaars. They thanked the CM for setting up the bazaars.

“The entire government machinery is working to ensure that all essential items are available at Ramazan Bazaars,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 19^th, 2016.