Rs1,950m released for South Punjab Secretariat

MULTAN: The work on the South Punjab Secretariat project has been expedited and the government has released Rs 1,950 million for the project.

In this regard, a meeting was held under the chairmanship of Additional Chief Secretary South Punjab Saqib Zafar to review the progress of the project. Additional Secretary Rizwan Qadeer and resident team of IDAP also attended the meeting.

Addressing the meeting, the South Punjab Additional Chief Secretary directed the authorities concerned to expedite the work on the project and said the delay in construction of the secretariat would not be tolerated at any cost. He said Punjab Chief Minister wanted the secretariat’s completion within the stipulated time. He said he would personally oversee the construction of the secretariat and a meeting would be held every week to review the progress on the project. The South Punjab ACS further said that Rs 2,400 million are being spent on this project with an area of 404 kanal located at Mattital Road. Out of the approved cost, while Rs. 1,950 million has been released for the project, he said.

He said the construction of the Chief Minister's Office is also included in the secretariat project. He said that apart from ACS, Addl IG, offices of secretaries of 15 departments would be established in the Secretariat. The South Punjab ACS directed to ensure high quality of work on the project.

The meeting was told that the project of South Punjab Secretariat will be completed in two phases. In the first phase, office blocks will be constructed while in the second phase, the government residences (GOR) will be constructed. Funds amounting to Rs 25 million have been spent on this project so far. In the briefing, it was informed that the plan of south Punjab Secretariat will be completed by August 2023.

Implementation of coronavirus SOPs intensified: All-out efforts are underway to enforce strict implementation on coronavirus SOPs by closing educational institutions and markets.

Reportedly, despite such all measures the surge in coronavirus cases is not waning. According to available information and statistics, insufficient health infrastructure is the main hurdle in the combat of the spraed of coronavirus.

According to statistics collected by the South Punjab Civil Secretariat Command and Control Centre from eleven districts of south Punjab, three districts are vulnerable to coronavirus spike. According to reports, coronavirus cases have touched 3,342 mark till September 12 in south Punjab.

The Multan district is ranked at highest in coronavirus breakout as the district received 79 new COVID-19 cases where the total numbers of patients have reached to 419. In Bahawalpur district 23 coronavirus patients are reported and in Lodhran district 20 people tested positive for the pandemic.

Similarly, Rahimyar Khan is the third vulnerable district in terms of the spread of coronavirus where 19 new coronavirus cases were reported. In Dera Ghazi Khan district 19 coronavirus, in Layyah 17, in Khanewal 14, in Rajanpur 13 and in Muzaffargarh 11 cases. The south Punjab region performed 3,609 coronavirus tests during the last 24 hours and 227 people tested positive for the virus.