KARACHI, Jan 18: Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad has said the government has made good progress to overcome the rural and urban divide with the initiation of development projects worth billions of rupees by the local government.

Terming the local government system a ”quiet revolution”, he said, it would gradually help remove the feudal mindset and obstacles in the way of progress.

Speaking to delegations of the National Defence College, educationists and physicians who called on him separately on Thursday, the governor stated that the government was pursuing a multiple strategy to help bring improvement in the people’s life.

He said that with the participation of people from the lowest level to nazim under the local government system, the common man had become aware of his rights. The government measures to reduce poverty, providing education, medical and employment opportunities to all would facilitate every section of society, including the rural population.

He said that efforts were being made to introduce a toll-free telephone number under the E-health programme from which people living in any part of the province could get necessary guidance about medical facilities available at their nearest medical centre. Besides, he said, all districts were being linked with the ”Tele-medicine system” so that the services of specialist doctors and other medical facilities could be made available in the far flung areas of the province.

The governor , while exchanging views with former health minister Dr Prof Rab, Dr Asim Qureshi, Dr Nazeer Hussain and Dr Prof Jan Muhammad about medical education and research facilities also informed them that the government was also emphasising on providing higher education and research facilities to doctors.

In reply to a question, the governor said that in the past no efforts had been made to make investment in power generation by the KESC and to improve its management. However, he said, the federal and provincial governments were extending full cooperation to the utility for overcoming the power crisis in Karachi as the work was on for installation of new transformers and grid stations would initiate power generation.