By Ajmal Khan Yousafzai
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday inaugurated the Peshawar Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project almost three years after the work commenced on the project.
Addressing the inaugural ceremony, the prime minister termed the service as “the best metro bus project in the country”.
“This will have an impact in Peshawar cause the city has one main artery that stretches from GT Road to Hayatabad, which chokes when under pressure, resulting in people sitting in traffic for hours which causes pollution and petrol wastage,” he said.
The premier maintained that the main artery was 27 kilometres long while the feeder routes were 60km. “This means that all of the city will be connected,” he said, adding that it was a modern transport system covering Peshawar in its entirety. The premier also admitted to having “reservations” about the project. “I want to say I had reservations about the project.
“Today, I want to pay tribute to Pervez Khattak because he always said that you will realise the importance of this project once it is completed. So all I want to say is that he [Khattak] was right and we turned out to be wrong.”
The premier also commented that the ticket prices for the Peshawar BRT were “just right”. “Our programmes should give priority to improving the lives of the common man. Everyone can afford the ticket which ranges from Rs10 to Rs50.”
There are also tickets for students to make their commute easier and hospitals have been connected so people will no longer face difficulties in this regard, he said. He added that the project will eventually increase the per capita income in Peshawar and bring prosperity. “When you have a good transport system, it brings change.”
Started in October 2017, the project, which is built at a cost of Rs70 billion, is a 27.5 kilometer-long corridor track with 31 stations and seven feeder routes stretching 62km with 146 stops to facilitate thousands of passengers every day.
KP Chief Minister Mahmood Khan on Wednesday said the initial deadline set by his predecessor, Pervez Khattak, was a mistake. However, he had launched the project to benefit the people of the provincial capital, he had said.
Earlier in the day, the premier launched the Ehsaas Nashonuma Programme in Khyber district to prevent stunted growth in children.
The premier also planted a sapling and giving polio drops to a young child, before being given a briefing by Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation Sania Nishtar.
According to Radio Pakistan, Rs8.52 billion have been allocated for the programme under which deserving families will be provided nutritious food and a quarterly stipend.
In the first phase, 33 centres will be established in nine districts of the country all of which will be established by the end of the month, the report said.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday pledged that the government will not leave the people of Karachi alone in this time of crisis.
The comments were passed by the prime minister during his meeting with Law Minister Farogh Naseem and Sindh Governor Imran Ismail, as they met to discuss the situation in Sindh, especially Karachi, after the monsoon rains.
“We are fully aware of the hardships being faced by the people of Karachi and we will not abandon them during the crisis,” claimed the prime minister.
Last month, the PTI-led federal government had promised that it would not abandon the people of Karachi at such a stressful time during which the city is struggling with two problems: coronavirus and the aftermath of the monsoon rains.
PM Imran also addressed the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to submit a detailed report about the situation of nullahs in Karachi.
Moreover, Prime Minister Imran Khan Thursday launched the country’s first ever Ehsaas Nashonuma Program aimed at preventing the stunted growth of children as 40 percent of children suffer the impaired growth mainly due to poor nutrition.
Initially launched in nine districts across the country, the program featured maintenance of data of pregnant and lactating mothers and their under-two year babies besides providing them quarterly stipend and healthy diet.
Accompanied by Federal Religious Affairs Minister Pir Nurul Haq Qadri, Special Assistant to PM on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation, KP Governor Shah Farman, Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mahmood Khan, the prime minister visited a Nashonuma Center established here.
Dr Sania Nishtar briefed the prime minister about the features and significance of the program launched in pursuance of the his vision to address the issue of stunting among the children.
The prime minister also interacted with the beneficiary women of the anti-stunting program as the country stood second in the region for stunting with 40 percent of the children facing stunted growth due to malnutrition or other reasons.
A budget of Rs 8.52 billion has been earmarked for the government funded three-year Nashonuma program.
The beneficiaries would be provided quarterly stipend of Rs 2,000 for girls and Rs 1,500 for boys.
In the initial phase, 33 Nashonuma centers have been established in nine districts including Khyber, Upper Dir, Bagh, Ghizer, Hunza, Kharmang, Kharan, Badin and Rajanpur.
The districts have been selected on the basis of prevalence rate of stunting. The establishment of all 33 Nashonuma centers will be completed by end of August.
Four centers have already been set up in Rajanpur, six in Upper Dir and three in Khyber while six will be established in Badin, three each in Kharan and Bagh and eight in Gilgit Baltistan.
An application has also been designed to maintain the health record of the beneficiaries and special registration desks have also been set up for beneficiary women at the centers.
Special awareness sessions would be held for the beneficiary women in their regional languages for what special literature including charts, posters and educational videos have been designed.
The centers would also be equipped with special ATM machines to dispense the amount of stipend through biometrics.
