Political gathering: PML-Q leader says Punjab in a state of mess
Former provincial chief minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi says nothing is quite right about Punjab these days. All the schemes initiated by the Punjab government have failed and all the claims it makes are false, because in reality all provincial departments have been destroyed, people are starving to death as the government is busy working on Metro Bus projects. In other words, the province is a mess, according to Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid leader Pervaiz Elahi.
He expressed these thoughts while addressing a public gathering in Bahawalpur on Saturday.
He said the government of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz has failed miserably in the centre and in Punjab, all the schemes which they initiated have failed including Danish School, Tandoor Scheme, Taxi Scheme and other initiatives. “Now these schemes are nowhere to be seen, neither the Tandoor nor the chief minister can be located.”
He said that during their regime electricity was provided to the people at Rs5 per unit but now in PML-N’s government this cost has increased to Rs18-20 per unit — such costly electricity is beyond the buying power of the poor people.
He said Shahbaz Sharif had promised that his party would resolve the issue of electricity within six months and now more than a year has passed but the issue still stands. “How can a country where electricity is priced at Rs18 per unit prosper?”
Former Punjab chief minister said the only solution to this problem is the construction of Kalabagh dam: once the dam starts functioning, it will take down the power tariff to Rs3 per unit. “It will produce 3600MW electricity which will be enough to meet the shortfall. It will also provide water to all provinces, especially Sindh, which will benefit the most. The cost of Kalabagh dam is $9 billion but its benefits are countless,” he explained.
He said that incumbent government is spending national resources over expensive electricity projects rather than spending them on cheap hydroelectricity projects. “The sense of deprivation in Southern Punjab and Bahawalpur is more than any part of the country as funds of this area are spent on Lahore,” he maintained.
Also addressing the public gathering, PML-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain said that all political leaders should think about national interest rather than their personal interests.
He said that government should hold the local body elections on priority basis and asked all his party workers to focus on the next local body elections.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 23rd, 2014.
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