Orange Line Metro inaugurated amid govt, PML-N squabble

CM Buzdar says project a culmination of Pakistan-China friendship

LAHORE:

The Orange Line Metro Train (OLMT) project was inaugurated on Sunday amid the government and the Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N) both laying claim to its ownership.

Scheduled to be inaugurated by Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, the Lahore's famed train project was 'inaugurated beforehand' by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders at Jain Temple.

Carrying pictures of PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif, party leaders and workers reached the Anarkali station where PML-N leader Khwaja Saad Rafique carried out the ribbon cutting.

Inaugurating the project separately, Buzdar said the OLMT was "a culmination of Pakistan-China friendship that began with the China - Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)".

He said the metro project was a part of CPEC, which is a result of the decades-old friendship between the two neighbouring countries.

"It is the first transport project under CPEC and a gift to the people of Lahore," the Punjab CM said. He added that the Punjab government welcomes all development projects that may accompany the joint venture.

The chief minister further revealed that the OLMT project will be provided with a Rs15 billion subsidy by the provincial government.

The Opposition

Addressing PML-N workers, Rafique said that the former chief minister of Punjab and the founder of OLMT project, Shehbaz Sharif, is in jail under false accusations.

"Shehbaz is being convicted for demanding the rights of common man and improving the conditions of Punjab," Rafique added.

Questioning the incumbent government, the PML-N leader said that the delay in Orange Line train has costed the national exchequer billions of rupees.

Referring to the Pakistan Democratic Movement's (PDM) December 13th rally, scheduled to be held in Lahore, PML-N leader Ayaz Sadiq said that PTI’s judicial attacks have failed and all political parties have united against the government. He said the country would witness a "historic" rally in Lahore.

PML-N’s Ataullah Tarar also said that PTI had taken a deliberate stay order on the project to stop Shehbaz Sharif from inaugurating it.

Responding to the PML-N leader's actions and remarks, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Shibli Faraz said CPEC was the project of people of Pakistan and not of any specific party.

In a tweet, he said PML-N's NAB victims were actually celebrating the plundering of national exchequer and public resources on the self-proclaimed inauguration of the orange train. He said that it was the people who had to bear the burden of expensive projects.

 

(ن) لیگ کے نیب زدگان اورنج ٹرین کے خودساختہ افتتاح پر دراصل قومی خزانے کی لوٹ مار اور عوامی وسائل کھانے کا جشن منا رہے ہیں۔ مہنگے منصوبوں کا بوجھ عوام کو اٹھانا پڑتا ہے، مہنگائی اور معاشی تباہی ہوتی ہے۔ پشیمانی، ندامت اور معافی کے بجائے جشن منا کر ڈھٹائی کا ثبوت دیا جا رہاہے۔

— Senator Shibli Faraz (@shiblifaraz) October 25, 2020

 

The Orange Line Metro Train comprises 26 stations and tracks spanning over 27.12km.This is the first electricity-run public transport project through which around 250,000 commuters will travel daily.

The train service is scheduled to start for general public from tomorrow.

This project is said to lessen transport load on Multan Road and provide 'world-class' public transport facility to Lahore's residents.