DADU: Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Tuesday laid the foundation stone of a scheme under which Jamshoro-Sehwan road is to be converted to a dual carriageway.

Speaking to the audience at the ground-breaking ceremony near the Toll Plaza at Petaro, he said he was happy to implement this scheme as the road was built on an initiative taken by his late father Syed Abdullah Shah and inaugurated by Benazir Bhutto some two decades ago.

He said the quality of work could be gauged from the fact that the road was still in good shape. He said increasing volume and heavy traffic on this arterial road had necessitated its conversion to a dual carriageway.

Mr Shah said that soon after taking over as the chief minister, he had asked the then chief secretary, Siddique Memon, to do the needful for improving the transport facility on this road. He observed that not only traffic congestion had become a serious issue for commuting and goods transportation but an increase in the number of accidents along the road had also been registered. He hoped that both these issues would stand addressed once the dual carriageway was completed.

Mr Shah said that in the first phase, a 64-kilometre-long road would be built between Jamshoro and Manjhand for which the work was being started. In the second phase, he said the road between Manjhand and Sehwan would be built for which tenders were being invited. He held out the assurance that the second phase would also be completed within the next three months. The CM hoped that the scheme would greatly benefit the people of Sindh, especially those belonging to Jamshoro and Dadu districts. Besides, he added, the scheme would help curb road traffic accidents. He said the scheme was being implemented on a priority basis.

Mr Shah said his government was actively considering several development and rehabilitation schemes for the Kohistan area and they included the ones pertaining to solar energy and water supply. He pointed out that an overhead bridge was being built at Jamshoro railway crossing and promised to consider more flyovers as well as bridges and underpasses if and when they needed to be built in the district.

The chief minister expressed his confidence that the PPP would win in the next general elections with a thumping majority and form its governments at the Centre and in all provinces.

MNA Malik Asad Sikandar, CM’s Special Assi­s­tant Dr Sikandar Ali Shoro, Faqir Dad Khoso, Siddique Memon, Hyderabad Commissio­ner Saeed Ahmed Mangnejo, Jamshoro Deputy Commissioner retired Captain Fareeduddin Mustafa, Sindh University Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Fateh Mohammad Burfat, Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences Vice Chancellor Dr Bikha Ram were prominent among the figures who attended the ceremony.

Published in Dawn, December 13th, 2017