KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah approved Rs66 billion for the reconstruction of 8,620 kilometres of provincial roads with the support of donor agencies.

Chairing a meeting to review the overhauling of damaged roads here at the CM House, he said that due to heavy rains Sindh has faced an unprecedented situation as the infrastructure had been badly affected.

He added that most of the roads and associated infrastructure had been damaged and the remaining roads were in severely dilapidated condition and it required immediate repair and rehabilitation to enable connectivity of inter- and intra-districts road network.

He was told that the works & services department had so far carried out a district-wise survey of damages caused to the roads and other infrastructure and prepared a district-wise assessment.

Approves procurement of 300,000 tonnes of wheat

In the roads sector, 801 schemes under the purview of the provincial government have been affected having a length of 8,620 kilometres. Funds required for the rehabilitation of the road infrastructure is Rs94.121bn, or $427.825 million.

The chief secretary informed the CM that the Asian Development Bank (ADB) had also appointed a consultant to verify the assessment data of damages.

The chief minister approved Rs66bn to reconstruct 8,620km of roads and directed the authorities to ensure the quality of the roads and construct conduits, bridges, and siphons where the passage to rain/sewerage water was required to be given.

He said that there was a need to onstruct climate-resilient long-life roads so construction and the material should be used accordingly.

He also directed the chairman of the planning and development board to work out small-up-to-3km-damaged roads connecting one village to the other, to the city or within the city so that work on them could be started.

“I want you to gather the data within three weeks and submit it for my approval,” he said, adding he would start work on them in January.

Govt to procure 300,000 tonnes of wheat

Presiding over another meeting at the CM House, the chief minister reviewed the wheat stocks available with the provincial government.

He approved procurement of 300,000 tonnes from the Pakistan Agricultural Storage & Services Corporation (PASSCO) so that the requirement up to the beginning of March could be met.

Food Minister Mukesh Kuman Chawla while briefing the chief minister said that during the 2022-23 season, the food department had released 721,000 tonnes of wheat so far and still 379,000 tonnes was available with the department.

He added that 300,000 tonnes of wheat was needed so that wheat requirement till the harvest of the new crop, March 2023 could be met.

The chief minister approved the procurement of 300,000 tonnes of wheat from PASSCO.

Published in Dawn, December 22nd, 2022