LAHORE, July 12: A new public transport system will be introduced in 10 major cities of Punjab and a free bus service will be launched to pick and drop schoolchildren of backward areas, a handout quoted Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif as saying here on Saturday.

At a luncheon he hosted for columnists at Chief Minister's Secretariat, Sharif said water coolers had been installed at all tehsil headquarters hospitals of the province, while air conditioners would be installed at all teaching hospitals by the end of the current month. He said had the boards of management of autonomous teaching hospitals been performing their duties properly, the situation in hospitals would not have deteriorated to this extent. He said that boards of directors of autonomous hospitals would be reconstituted and public-friendly people would be given representation in these. He said that public transport system had flopped due to which people were facing inconvenience. He said it was unfortunate that people’s precious time was being wasted on roads in wait of transport.

The chief minister said that male and female children of backward areas could not education simply because they did not have transport to reach their schools. He said the Punjab government was launching a free bus service in these areas, adding that a security guard would be deployed on each bus.

Referring to the Food Stamp Scheme that aims people living below the poverty line, the chief minister said it was an attempt to provide relief to the poor in the purchase of flour, ghee and pulses by allocating Rs22 billion for the purpose. He said that about two million families would be given a relief of Rs1,000 per month under this scheme. He said that this was only a starting point, as the Punjab government wanted to make a substantial increase in this amount in the next budget.

Sharif said the budget of Chief Minister's Secretariat had been reduced five times from Rs350 million to Rs70 million. He said that 800 cars, including five bulletproof vehicles, were being auctioned and so far Rs160 million had been earned. He said the entire amount would be diverted to development projects.