THATTA, May 20: Sindh Chief Minister Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim has said that the plan for dual carriage national highway from Karachi to Thatta and Thatta to Hyderabad has been approved by the government.

He said that the carriageway would provide maximum facilities and bridge the gap between rural and urban areas and open new avenues of livelihood for the people.

He was talking to reporters here on Saturday during his visit to the National Highway bypass at Thatta, Thatta-Sujawal link road improvement and reconstruction project at a cost of Rs739.286 million.

He said that the people should now desist from following slogan-mongering politicians who had delivered nothing but poverty, illiteracy and unemployment.

Replying to a question, Arbab Rahim said that the existing assemblies would elect the president in uniform as per the constitutional requirement and after that elections would be conducted.

He said that the president-in-uniform was essential to rescue the country out of socio-political and economic crises.

The chief minister said that there will be no new tax in the budget and people would get maximum relief.

He said that by the grace of Almightily God, Sindh was having ample funds to overcome inflation and minimise miseries of people.

About the demolition of Sindhi settlements in urban areas, he said that he had already issued the directives to the city government under which from now no village would be bulldozed without the prior permission of the Sindh government.

Arbab Rahim said that he was a Samoo and resident of Thatta. “Our ancestors belonged to the Samoo dynasty of Sindh and had migrated from Thatta to Thar” he said.

Arbab Rahim said that Mian Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto’s democracy pact was a mockery of democracy.

He said that there was no water shortage in Sindh and canals in Sukkur were full to capacity.

About lifting of the ban on jobs, the chief minister said that he was serious to provide employment to youth as soon as possible but some political reservations and constraints were delaying the matter.

He said that special efforts were being made to improve the Thatta and Badin coastal belt to provide maximum job opportunities and livelihood to fishermen families.

The project director of the Sindh works and services department, Mr Akbar Rashdi, gave briefing on the occasion.

The chief minister visited a material checking laboratory on site and expressed his satisfaction over the standard of material being used in the project.

District Nazim Shafqat Hussain Shah Shirazi and Aijaz Shah Shirazi also visited the Thatta-Sujawal bridge on the Indus River.

Our Badin correspondent adds: The chief minister said that the government was committed to bring the rates of essential commodities down.

He was talking to reporters during the inspection of stone-pitching work of the Akram wah canal near Murad wah crossing bridge of Badin and Tando Mohammad Khan border on Saturday.

He said that export of pulses had been banned and sugar mills had been warned to bring sugar stock in the market.

He said that wheat flour would be provided at cheap rate with nominal increase over the government purchasing rate of wheat.

He said that encroachments along irrigation canals would be removed and inspection paths would be constructed.

He said the people especially government servants would hear a good news in the budget.

He said that the salary of personnel of the Sindh police would be raised equal to that of the Punjab police.