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KARACHI, Aug 7: Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad has issued directives for completion of renovation and expansion work at Shahrah-i-Pakistan ahead of schedule keeping in view the quality of the project.
He issued this directive while laying the foundation stone of the renovation and expansion the work on the 5.5-km-long road here on Sunday.
He was accompanied by advisers to the CM Mr Wasim Akhtar and Salahuddin Haider, DCO Fazalur Rehman, EDO Works Syed Sarfaraz Ali Shah and other officials.
The project will be completed in 24 months at a cost of Rs418 million.
Speaking on the occasion, the governor described it as an important highway that connects Karachi with other cities.
He said emphasis is also being laid on betterment and beautification of the exteriors of the highrises facing the main roads. The KBCA has been directed to look after this work, he said.
Regarding encroachments in the city, he said that constant attention was being paid to resolve this problem while much of the encroachments had already been removed.
About cleanliness drive, he said he himself was monitoring the work being carried out and urged people to extend their full cooperation in this regard.
SIGNIFICANT CHANGE: Dr Ibad has said that significant improvement has been recorded in every sector during the present government’s small tenure of 30 months.
He was speaking at a katchehri of North Nazimabad residents held at the Governor’s House here on Sunday.
He said that the purpose of such a gathering was to develop contacts with masses, and added that the practice would continue so that the government could receive feed back from general public directly through interaction.
Dr Ibad said that in spite of limited resources, the provincial government had made all out efforts to resolve major problems, like maintenance of law and order, establishment of new industries and creation of new job opportunities, within a short span of 30 months.
Referring to the improved law and order situation, he said that the overall situation could be gauged from the significant change in industrial, agricultural, banking, housing, and all other sectors.
He pointed out that a record 500,000 new motorcycles had been purchased and got registered this year in Karachi alone as against 95,000 in the year 2000.
He also referred to so many job opportunities created for educated youth in different fields, particularly Information Technology (IT), and said that the government was paying special attention to the issue of unemployment and IT sector.
The governor said that the government was aware of the conditions prevailing in rural areas of the province, and noted that the ratio of poverty there was much higher as compared to the urban areas.
However, he added, the government was fully determined to resolve this problems on a priority basis.
Regarding water shortage, he said that water was one of the biggest problems being faced by people of Karachi because the city was getting 1,450 million gallon per day (mgd) as against its requirement of 1,550 mgd. He said that to meet this deficit, the government had launched the ‘K-3’ project under which additional water would be supplied to the city.
Dr Ibad said that similar was the position of electricity as power generation at present appeared to be about 1,700 mega watts against the requirement of 2,100 mega watts. He pointed out that many projects had already been initiated to tackle the situation and overcome the shortfall by the end of this year.
“This is for the first time in the history of the country that more than 70 per cent of development projects in different sector have been launched with the assistance and approval of the federal government in addition to so many other projects initiated by the provincial government,” he observed.
TELENT AWARD: Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad on Sunday distributed cash awards of Rs20,000 to Rs50,000 among 22 young children who had participated in a talent show organized by the Karachi Building Control Authority (KBCA) during the recent International Housing Industry Exhibition.
The children, aged between seven and 12 years, were invited as ‘special guests of the Governor’ at Dr Ibad’s official residence. They were accompanying their parents.
In his brief remarks, the governor deeply appreciated the children’s tremendous talent and called for their proper grooming.
“Pakistani youth have already earned laurels internationally in cricket, hockey, squash, snooker and boxing,” he noted, and called for holding such talent shows at different levels in future also.
Those present on the occasion were Federal Minister for Ports and Shipping Babar Ghauri, advisers to the CM Salahuddin Haider and Faisal Malik, and a number of other prominent figures.—APP
