SAHIWAL: The Punjab government has approved two road projects worthRs12 billion for Sahiwal.

A new expressway will be built with Rs9 billion to connect Sahiwal with Sumandari at Lahore-Multan Motorway. The secondproject is worth Rs3 billion under which Sahiwal-Lahore GT Road section will be rehabilitated.

Governor Chaudhry Sarwar said this after he inaugurated the road carpeting project at Sahiwal bypass on Thursday.

It is learnt both projects will be executed by the National Highway Authority (NHA).

Iftikhar Muhammad Sajid, NHA general manager of North Punjab, saidthe GT Road carpeting project will be accomplished till June 2022.

He said the carpeting work will be done in different phases. In the first phase, Rs140 million would be spent on the carpeting of Sahiwal bypass. In the second and third phase, Rs296.4 million and Rs481.7 million would bespent on the carpeting of Sahiwal-Okara Section and Okara Bypass till Tabrooq Cantt.

Mr Sajid revealed that the 15 km road from Thokar Niaz Beg to Mohlanwal will also be completed by the end of this month. He said this work had been pending for two years and now it had entered the final phase.

There had been a strong public demand for years that Sahiwal be linked to newly-constructed Lahore-Multan Motorway via Sumandari. The demand was raised with the previous government but to no avail.

After coming into power, Chief Minister Usman Buzdar announced that no new expressway would be built but Sahiwal-Faisalabad Road through River Ravi Qutab Shahana Bridge will be reconstructed and will be connected to Lahore-Multan Motorway via Samundari.

The chief minister has already announced this Rs9 billion project during his visit to Sahiwal a few months ago. Now this whole project has been abandoned and instead the governor announced a new express highway which will connect Sahiwal with Lahore-Multan Motorway through a two-way express highway via Samundari.

It is learnt the previous approved grant for the project by the Punjab government would now be shifted to the construction of new expressway project. The people say the change in the mega project plan had been done by the governor on the recommendation of the Rais of Chichawatni.

BODY: A burnt male body was found in a railway carriage train that bring coal for Qadirabad Coal-Fired Power plant from Karachi port.

The body was discovered when local plant employees were about to unload the coal at warehouse. Every day, three to four rains bring coal for the plant from the Karachi Port. Local employees informed the Yousafwala police, which rushed to the plant site and took the body into custody.

SUICIDE: A youth committed suicide by shooting himself in village 86/9-L. It is learnt Sultan, 24, took the extreme step on some domestic dispute.Police handed over the body to the family.

Published in Dawn, April 10th, 2021