Hybrid buses to ply the city
Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi has announced that environment-friendly hybrid buses will be operated in the provincial capital.
Presiding over a meeting of the Punjab Masstransit Authority on Sunday, the chief minister directed the authorities concerned to allot seats for women and differently abled persons in the buses. He said the allocated seats should be near the doors of the buses to facilitate differently-abled persons in a better manner.
He also directed the authority to set up new bus stops in the city and added that routes of the new buses should be formulated while keeping in view the timings of students of the educational institutions.
Chief minister Pervaiz Elahi had given approval to buy 300 hybrid buses for Lahore in the first phase.
He said as many as 200 new bus stops would be set up in Lahore to facilitate commuters, while 513 hybrid buses would be operated.
The Masstransit Authority will run the hybrid buses with the cooperation of private operators.
The CM also approval plans to construct offices of the authority in Dera Gujran, while an auction policy was approved as well.
The provincial transport secretary and other officers concerned attended the meeting.
Also on Sunday, Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi and Member of National Assembly (MNA) Hussain Elahi visited the home of MNA Ameer Sultan in Garh Maharaja, Jhang and expressed their sympathy and condolence over the death of former minister of state Sahibzada Nazir Sultan. The chief minister expressed his deep sense of sorrow and grief over the demise of Sahibzada Nazir Sultan with MNA Ameer Sultan, MNA Mehboob Sultan and the heirs.
The CM offered Fateha for the deceased and prayed that Allah Almighty grant fortitude to the bereaved family to bear the loss. He paid tribute to the political and social services of Nazir Sultan. The chief minister and Hussain Elahi also visited the shrine of Hazrat Sultan Bahu and laid a wreath. They prayed on the occasion for the progress, prosperity and stability of the country. Members of the National and Punjab Assemblies Muhammad Khan Leghari, Ghulam Bibi Bharwana, Sahibzada Muhammad Mehboob Sultan, Sahibzada Ameer Sultan, Rana Shehbaz, Muhammad Azam Chela, Malik Ahmad Khan Bhachar and other notables of the area were also present.
The lawmakers also met the chief minister to discuss progress of the ongoing development projects in their constituencies.
The CM remarked that numerous steps were being taken by the Punjab government to provide maximum relief to the people in a short span of time, adding that its opponents could not tolerate the service-oriented politics.
He urged the assembly members not to leave any stone unturned to solve problems of the people at the earliest.
The Punjab chief minister also issued a statement condemning a terrorist attack on a police station in Lakki Marwat.
He expressed deep sorrow over the martyrdom of four police personnel and conveyed his heartfelt sympathy and grief with the heirs.
The chief minister prayed for early recovery of the injured police personnel.
He highlighted that the martyred police personnel had laid down their lives during performance of their duties.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 19th, 2022.