KARACHI(National Times)- Sindh Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon has said that efforts are underway to make University Road “100 per cent motorable” by September 15.
He said this while talking to the media at the site of the under-construction Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Red Line project here on Saturday.
Mr Memon got a detailed briefing on the progress of the project, construction activities and work underway in different sections.
He said work was progressing rapidly, while road carpeting had been completed at several locations of University Road.
“Work is underway to make the entire University Road 100 per cent motorable by September 15,” he said.
The minister, who also holds the portfolios of information, transport and mass transit, said work was also progressing rapidly in other sections of the Red Line, while the construction of bridges was also underway as part of the project.
He said work was also underway on the Yellow Line project and the Sindh government was providing the best possible travel facilities to the citizens of Karachi through BRT projects.
He said agreements had been signed for the purchase of 500 electric buses and that orders had also been placed. These buses would soon be available to the citizens of Karachi, while bikes and scooters would also be provided to citizens very soon, he said.
He agreed that there were still challenges and problems in Karachi, but said that the Sindh chief minister held meetings on a daily basis to address them and was personally monitoring the issues facing the city.
Blaming the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan for ruining the city, he said parties that engaged in the politics of hatred defamed their own province.
He added that highlighting the province’s problems through negative propaganda was not in its interest. Positive and responsible politics were needed to resolve Karachi’s problems and send a positive and safe message to foreign investors, he said.
“Karachi is still one of the important economic centres of Pakistan and is considered one of the highest tax-paying cities in the country,” he said, adding: “The development of Karachi is the development of the entire Pakistan, and it is the joint responsibility of all of us to make it successful.”
He said resolving Karachi’s problems was primarily the government’s responsibility, but citizens and all relevant stakeholders would also have to play their role.
In response to a question, Mr Memon said PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari had stated the party’s clear policy on the issue of new provinces and that the Constitution provided a clear procedure for their formation. No other method was acceptable except the constitutional procedure.
He said that, for the formation of a new province, a resolution had to be passed by the relevant provincial assembly by a majority. According to him, a resolution against the formation of a new province had been presented in the Sindh Assembly seven times. Four of these resolutions were passed unanimously, while on three occasions during the PPP’s tenure, a resolution related to the formation of a province was passed by a majority.
The PPP’s position on the formation of provinces was clear, he said, adding that all decisions should be made in accordance with the will of the people.
“The genuine expression of public opinion was through elected representatives who reached the assemblies through elections. Conducting a street survey in the presence of public representatives was not a constitutional alternative for determining public opinion,” he opined.
In response to a question regarding PTI founder Imran Khan, Mr Memon said any sick person, whether political or non-political, should be provided with treatment facilities.
On humanitarian grounds, every sick person had the right to go to a hospital and receive treatment. “There is nothing more valuable than human life, and there is no greater work than serving humanity,” he said.
“If Imran Khan needs medical facilities, then he must be provided with them. No one’s access to medical treatment should be obstructed on the basis of political opposition or personal revenge,” he said.
He said the courts made the country’s most important legal decisions and that if a court had allowed treatment or a meeting with family members, the decision should be implemented. No political party or institution could take a decision that overrode a court order, he added.
In response to another question, the senior minister said the Hyderabad Airport, which had previously been operational in Sindh, had been closed, while questions also remained regarding other airports in the province. He said new airports had been built in other provinces, but proper attention had not been given to the issue of airports in Sindh.
He said the motorway corridor was important for the entire country and that link roads in other provinces had also been converted into motorways. However, not a single motorway had been completed in Sindh so far.
The federal government should take steps to construct motorways in Sindh, he said, adding that important decisions regarding airports and motorways in the province fell under the jurisdiction of the federal government.
