The Sindh government has put into place such a firm mechanism that its welfare initiatives for providing accommodation and due relief to the homeless flood victims cannot be undone by a future regime, no matter which political party comes into power as a result of the upcoming general elections.
Information and Transport Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon said this while speaking at a press conference on Tuesday. Similarly, he told the media persons, the unmatched and exemplary treatment services provided by the public healthcare facilities in the province will continue without any interruption.
Memon said that the provincial government has launched a mammoth housing project to build accommodation facilities for 2.1 million homeless flood victims in the province.
He said that so far flood victims in Larkana, Jacobabad, Qambar Shahdadkot, Naushahro Feroze, Dadu and Shikarpur have been given the documents that grant them ownership rights to the houses to be built for them.
He added that similar ownership rights will be given to the homeless people of Khairpur, Badin, Shaheed Benazirabad, Matiari and Jamshoro.
The minister said the provincial government has been providing compensation and land ownership rights to each and every flood victim who has been rendered homeless anywhere in the province due to last year’s deadly natural calamity.
He told journalists that women empowerment in the rural areas of the province is an important component of this relief drive as per the vision of the leadership of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).
He said the PPP has always tried to launch these welfare initiatives on a sustainable basis for their long-term validity. He claimed that compared to the rest of the country, the best healthcare services in the public sector are available in Sindh.
Memon said that public health facilities like the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases and the Sindh Institute of Urology & Transplantation in Karachi have been providing modern treatment and organ transplant services to the masses without charging any fee.
He told the media persons that the provincial government has been constantly providing subsidies of millions of rupees for the past six months to ensure that the passenger fares of the Peoples Bus Service (PBS) in the urban parts of the province are not increased.
He said that a day earlier a new route of the electric bus service was launched in Karachi from check post No. 5 of the Malir Cantonment to Numaish. He added that on Tuesday a new 35km route of the PBS was launched in the city from Khokhrapar to Saddar via Quaidabad and Korangi.
Published at The News on 2nd August 2023