BAHAWALPUR, March 24: Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi announced around Rs500 million for the construction of roads and laying of sewerage and water supply lines in Bahawalnagar district. The chief minister was speaking to a public meeting at the Central Park in Chishtian on Thursday. He also announced the upgradation of Chishtian Polytechnic Institute to college and a special grant of Rs10 million for the Deaf and Dumb School, Chishtian. Mr Elahi said that an overhead bridge would be constructed at river Sutlej to link Chishtian to Burewala and Bahawalnagar bypass. He said that THQ hospitals would also be upgraded in the Bahawalnagar district.

The chief minister also announced the distribution of over 3,000 acres of land free of cost among the landless peasants and over 2,000 residential plots among the poor villagers in the district.

The government, he said, was paying special attention on the uplift of under-developed areas in the province.

The government wanted to achieve its objective of record development in southern Punjab. For this purpose, he said the government had allocated 11 per cent more in the current year’s budget for the southern Punjab.

With regard to the damage to crops owing to recent rains and hailstorm in many parts of Punjab, the chief minister said that affected cultivators would be provided monetary help and remission in land revenue and abiana.

Earlier, MNA Tahir Cheema, Bahawalnagar District Nazim Ali Akbar Waince, Punjab Zakat and Ushr Minister Mian Khadim Hussain Wattoo and former minister Chaudhry Abdul Ghafoor in their speeches highlighted the problems of their respective areas. Chaudhry Ghafoor urged the chief minister to improve the law and order situation in the Bahawalnagar district particularly in Fort Abbas tehsil.