LAHORE: Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif inaugurated the Kalma Chowk flyover on Ferozepur Road yesterday and declared it an Independence Day “gift to the citizens of Lahore”. Speaking at the inauguration, the chief minister congratulated engineers for finishing the “landmark” bridge in a “record” 135 days. He said if all government departments were as dedicated and hardworking as the team that built the bridge, Pakistan would soon overcome its economic problems. He announced that workers involved in the project would be given bonuses totalling Rs1.5 million, while he presented shirts and ties to the communication and works secretary, project manager, chief engineer, National Logistics Cell heads and the director general of the Parks and Horticulture Authority as gifts.
Sharif also inaugurated construction work on an underpass between Gulberg’s Main Boulevard and Garden Town beneath the new flyover and told the Communication and Works Department to finish it in three months. The design and feasibility study for the 550-metre, three-lane underpass at Kalma Chowk has been prepared and it is projected to cost about Rs972 million. Plans have also been prepared for a 500-metre underpass at the Model Town crossing on Ferozepur Road, close to the new flyover. The two-lane underpass is projected to cost Rs350 million. Workers will begin construction once the Kalma Chowk underpass is finished. It is expected to benefit 46,047 vehicles that enter and exit Model Town every day.
The chief minister also spoke at a flag-hoisting ceremony at Hazoori Bagh in the morning.
Nawaz vows to fight PPP govt: Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif vowed on Sunday to fight against the present Pakistan Peoples Party government for its failure to address the country’s crises. He was speaking at a flag hoisting ceremony at the Hazoori Bagh, Lahore Fort, to mark the Independence Day. He said, “I, Nawaz Sharif, promise to protect the ideology of the Pakistan and to fulfill the dream of freedom fighters. I will fight against corruption, injustice and extremism and struggle for rule of law. I will defend the country and will not hesitate to give any sacrifice to defend democracy and to oppose military dictatorships.”
Sharif also took an oath from party members to support him in his fight against the incumbent government. He said the then leaders of the Muslim League had fulfilled a pledge they had made to the Muslims of India in 1940 and achieved Pakistan. The current PML-N leadership would also fulfill its vow to rid the country of unemployment, energy shortage, corruption, nepotism and poor law and order.
He said democracy had been restored in 2008 after a long struggle that forced general (retd) Pervez Musharraf to leave the country. He added that so far the democratic setup had only brought humiliation to the people. “Pakistan was not meant to be another underdeveloped country,” Sharif said. Elsewhere, the All Pakistan Muslim League arranged an event to mark August 14 and Pervez Musharraf’s birthday, where US consul general Carmela Conroy cut a cake.
