F.P. Report
KARACHI: Provincial Minister for Information, Transport and Mass Transit Sharjeel Inam Memon along with Provincial Local Government Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah and Labor Minister Saeed Ghani on Friday inaugurated Pakistan’s first EV People’s Bus Service in Karachi. Member Sindh Assembly Ghanwar Isran, Secretary Transport Abdul Haleem Shaikh, MD Sindh Mass Transit Authority Zubair Chana, Project Directir NRTC Sohaib Shafiq and others were also present on this occasion.
The provincial ministers reviewed the facilities in the EV People’s Bus Service and also traveled in the bus. Provincial Information Minister Sindh Sharjeel Inam Memon while talking to the media said that Pakistan’s first electric bus service is being started today from Karachi, these are environment friendly buses, which will run on electric charge. Capable of covering a distance of 240 km from a single charge,These European standard buses will not spread any kind of pollution. He said that along with the elimination of pollution in city, we are trying to provide the best travel facilities to the citizens at the minimum fare. He said that the bus service is being started from Tank Chowk Jinnah Avenue to Airport, Shahrah-e- Faisal, FTC building, Korangi Road, Khayaban-i Ittihad to Clock Tower Seaview.
He said that passengers traveling to airport had no such bus facility in Karachi. He said that citizens use private vehicles or cab services which charge them a fare of up to Rs.1500. But in the EV bus service, citizens can now travel to the airport for just Rs 50. He said that the Sindh government is grateful for the cooperation of the Civil Aviation Authority, which allowed the bus service to enter the airport premises. Sharjeel Inam Memon said that providing best public transport facility to citizens across the province is top priority of Sindh government of Pakistan People’s Party.
He said that Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has given instructions to all the members of the Sindh Cabinet to provide maximum facilities to the people and former President Asif Ali Zardari also takes special interest in resolving the issues of public . He said that Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah is the captain of our entire team.It is not possible to start any project without his support. Sindh Cabinet members enjoy the full support of Sindh Chief Minister who takes ownership of all development projects. Sharjeel Inam Memon said that the Sindh government is focusing to complete mega development projects of Karachi on top priority, as it is the economic hub of Pakistan.
He said that work is underway in Karachi on projects worth billions of rupees under the Department of Local Government, Works and Services and other departments.The minister said that Sindh Solid Waste Management is successfully running it’s operations in 7 districts of the city. The infrastructure of the city is being improved rapidly. He said that health facilities in Karachi are the best among all provinces. He said that no government or party had given a single mega project to Karachi before this. It’s credit goes to the Sindh government and leadership of Pakistan People’s Party. He said that citizens should take care of the first electric bus service of Pakistan, it is the public property and Sindh government is bringing more such projects. He said that they have to work together to resolve the city’s traffic, environmental pollution and other problems. He said that people think that Pakistan People’s Party is a party that does rely on mere slogans but do practical work to facilitate the people. The provincial minister said that those who were in power in the federal government for three and a half years before this did not work in Sindh and did not give anything to Karachi.Those people who got the position of mayor twice and, thrice, also did nothing to solve the problems of Karachi. The minister added that these people only sit on television shows and hurl baseless accusations and spread cheos in the name of politics and keep. People engaged in false propaganda.
He said that Pakistan People’s Party has a long list of it’s performance and has worked in every sector. He said that we consider public service as our election because Pakistan People’s Party has come to power with the people’s vote. He said that in the past, the people were brought to power through manipulation of RTS.
Answering the questions of journalists on this occasion, Sharjeel Inam Memon said that they had full respect for all the constitutional institutions including the Election Commission of Pakistan. Sindh government is bound to implement the Orders of the constitutional institutions? But some powers are with the courts, some powers with the Election Commission and some powers with the governments. He said that Sindh Cabinet has withdrawn the notification of 10 (1) using its constitutional and legal authority.
He said that the Sindh government has the power to issue and withdraw the 10 (1) notification? He said that some parties had concerns about it. We want all parties to be provided with a level playing field to participate in the elections. He said that 10 (1) notification was withdrawn on the demand of MQM Pakistan. He said that the Election Commission cannot reject the Sindh government’s notification under the law. Neither the Sindh government can interfere in the authority of the Election Commission of Pakistan? He said that they had not received the written copy of decision of the Election Commission.
They have come to learn about it through the media reports. He said that they will hold consultation with their legal team after receiving it’s written copy. He said that the authority to deploy the army at the polling stations in Karachi is at the discretion of the federal government, the Sindh government had written to the federal government on the the matter.
On which the federal government had apologized by saying that the forces of Pakistan are engaged in operations against terrorists? He said that if the Election Commission thinks that the army is needed at sensitive polling stations, it should contact the federal government or provide an alternative to the Sindh government.He said that wheat and law and order were also discussed in the cabinet meeting yesterday, IG Sindh has told the cabinet in the briefing that there are terror threat alerts in Sindh.There have been incidents of terrorism in KPK and Balochistan following the threat alert. IG Sindh has also expressed concerns about the incidents of terrorism in Sindh province? He said that IG Sindh said that 62,000 policemen are needed in local body elections.
If policemen are removed from mosques, imambargahs and other places and depolyed at the polling stations, then who will be responsible if any untoward incident happens.Sharjeel Inam Memon said that many areas of tehsil mehar and Khairpur Nathan Shah are affected by recent rains and floods still inundanted. keeping in view of situation, Sindh government had written a letter in advance to postponed local bodies elections but the reply has not been received yet. This letter was written before yesterday’s Sindh Cabinet meeting? He said that how can people exercise their right to vote in these areas? He said that we have requested the Election Commission that apart from the two tehsils Mehar and Khairpur Nathan Shah, elections may be held in the rest of the tehsils of Johi, Dadu. On the question of threats by MQM Pakistan for blocking of Shahra-e Faisal, Sharjeel Inam Memon said that Pakistan Peoples Party understands only one language and that is the language of love and no other language reaches to their ears and neither do they pay attention to it.
EV People’s Bus Service formally kicks off in Karachi
