Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif has said that provision of buses to the colleges at a cost of two billion rupees for facilitating the builders of the nation is a gift of Punjab government for them. He said resources required for equipping the young generation with modern knowledge and educational facilities would be provided, adding that provision of buses for the male and female students of colleges was such a welfare programme and next government will also continue it.
The Chief Minister said that 0.2 million (two lakh ten thousand) solar panels were being provided to the male and female students on merit in a transparent manner under Ujala Programme. He was addressing a function held with regard to provision of buses to the male and female students of government colleges, at Model Town, here on Saturday. Advisor to Chief Minister Zaeem Hussain Qadri, Member National Assembly Saira Afzal Tarar, Muslim League leader Shaista Pervaiz Malik, Secretary Higher Education and heads of educational institutions attended the function.
The Chief Minister gave away keys of buses to the heads of educational institutions. During the function, buses have been provided to 100 colleges of the province. Ninety buses were handed over to the principals of girls colleges whereas 10 buses to boys colleges.
Addressing the function, Shahbaz Sharif said "today is a happy day for him that Punjab government has also crossed an important milestone of providing buses for the convenience of male and female students of the colleges." He said that 100 air-conditioned buses imported from China had been provided to the colleges and the next government would complete this public project.
The Chief Minister said that the ratio of 90 / 10 had been fixed for the provision of buses so that the daughters of the nation should not face any difficulty in reaching their educational institutions. He said that educational institutions, hospitals, offices and industries were facing darkness and there was unemployment and poverty everywhere, adding that in such a situation, Ujala Programme of Punjab government was a ray of hope.
Shahbaz Sharif said that this splendid project of public welfare, metro bus service was being inaugurated on February 10 which would bring a revolution in transport sector. He said that best transport system existed in most of the countries of the world but no buses in dilapidated conditions were available for common man and the labourers.
He said metro bus service project, being completed in a record period of 11 months, would change the transport culture. He said that project was not only for Lahore but the people of the entire country would benefit from it and added that such projects should also be executed in the other big cities of Pakistan including Karachi.
The Chief Minister said that he, provincial ministers, assembly members, doctors, engineers, labourers and employees would also travel in metro bus and reach their destinations on time. He said that billions of rupees were wasted on unjust system of subsidy and the rich were also benefiting from it. He said that labourers and the common man would benefit from the subsidy being given on metro bus service.
He said that due to metro bus service project such a public transport system would become available that every person would proud of travelling through it and would be forced to think that this system should have been launched much earlier. He said that metro bus system was an important step towards Islamic welfare state as envisioned by Quaid and Iqbal and would revive the ideals of the founders of Pakistan. He said it was mandatory upon the heads of the colleges and college administration getting buses, to evolve a proper system for their maintenance and they are completely empowered in this regard.
He said heads of institutions near the routes of metro bus should arrange wagons for the facility of students at metro bus station so that the students travelling through metro bus could be facilitated to reach their educational institution. Earlier, Secretary Higher Education Dr Ijaz Munir while highlighting the educational activities of the Higher Education Department informed that 81 buses were also provided to the educational institutions last year and 100 buses had been given to the colleges this year. He said that 65 new colleges had been set up during the last four and a half years while 105 colleges were under construction, and seven new universities had also been established in the province.
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