The Punjab government has set May 10 as the balloting date for the Punjab e-bike Scheme, a project designed to provide 20,000 motorcycles to deserving students.
The announcement was made during a meeting chaired by Punjab Minister for Transport Bilal Akbar Khan, which focused on evaluating the scheme’s progress.
The project, launched by Chief Minister (CM) Maryam Nawaz on April 12 under the Chief Minister Youth Initiative, has garnered significant interest from students.
The number of applications has exceeded 100,000, indicating a high level of enthusiasm for the scheme. The balloting process will select 20,000 recipients from this pool.
The Punjab e-bike Scheme offers students the opportunity to acquire motorcycles and e-bikes through a manageable monthly installment plan.
Male students will be able to purchase bikes with payments of Rs11,676 per month, while female students can do so for Rs7,325 per month.
The scheme also has a quota system to ensure fair distribution. In urban areas, the quota is evenly split, with 50 per cent reserved for male students and 50 per cent for female students.
In rural areas, the allocation is different, with 70 per cent of the quota set aside for male students and 30 per cent for female students.
To promote equitable distribution in Lahore, motorcycles will be allotted based on the population density of each district.
As Chief Minister of Punjab Maryam Nawaz launched Saaf Suthra Punjab Campaign in Lahore, netizens all over the internet have started posting photos and information about the overflowing drains, sewage spillage, huge piles of garbage, and poor hygiene conditions in their cities.
Newly elected Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif is on a mission to transform Punjab. The latest in the series is the ‘Saaf Suthra Punjab drive’. Netizens are quick to remind her of the poor condition of drains and garbage in Lahore and other cities of Punjab.
In Lahore, citizens are struggling with the issues of overflowing drains, sewage water, and the stink emitting from them.
Blogger and activist Riaz Ali Turi posted about the uncovered drains in Lahore causing health risks and nauseating smells in NA-127 of Lahore which include the prominent areas of the city like Township and Green Town.
Urgent call to action: Uncovered drains in Lahore, particularly in NA-127, are posing serious health risks, with nauseating smells affecting residents, especially children. The situation on the ground was dire, as we witnessed. @MaryamNSharifhttps://t.co/uppeHGCyFVpic.twitter.com/II5KjUPwje
Another user with a pseudo name of I M Imran Khan shared the pictures of Shadman area in Lahore where overflowing drains are disturbing life. Adil posted about how the area around Urdu Bazaar is facing sewage issues to which Maryam Nawaz assured him of holistic action. Noman Waseem tagged CM Maryam that even though the initiative is great, nothing has been done in his city of Multan.
The whole shadman area in Lahore is worst than this, with a big sewage/ dirty drain in Shadman, jail rd, n chungi, which have become hallmarks of Lahore city. The moment u enter in Shadman, the unbearable sewer gas smell welcomes u. pic.twitter.com/LQvrbacUbM
In response to Zeeshan Malik’s tweet about the Punjab government’s work in Bahawalpur, a netizen commented that Pindi needs the same attention, and, not just on the roads but in the walled city as well.
Pindi mai kb ho ga zeeshan.just main roads per kaam na ho.asal maza tub hai androon yay saaf sutra punjab hona chew
A resident of Sheikhupura posted a series of littered streets that are disturbing the lives of citizens yet the commissioner was claiming to have started the project.
Dawn’s Khalid Hasnain interviewed a resident of a locality of Pine Avenue near Valencia Town named Aziz who complained, “You see the Sattukatla drain full of waste, which is choking its sewage flow. The water level in the drain is also rising due to the choking caused by the waste piling in it.”
“It is also surprising that though the WASA’s machine meant for desilting or cleaning the drain is parked here but no one has visited the site since long to operate it,” Aziz adds the Sattukatla drain overflows in the monsoon or the unexpected heavy rain while its choking is also spreading a very foul and unbearable smell everywhere.
The Current went to ask the residents near drains at Upper Mall which are especially disturbed by the foul smell which gets unbearable during rains.
Around Walton drains, a resident named Zahid Abbas complained that occasional breaking of the walls of the drain and overflowing of its contents causes many hindrances on daily basis. “When there is rain we become restricted to our homes and transportation via cars become increasingly difficult especially crossing the road,” says Zahid.
Traditionally, the epicentre of PML-N’s politics, Lahore has always been flaunted as the most developed part of the province the drains and heaps of garbage are depicting an opposite story. The situation is no better in other cities where grave problems require immediate action across the Punjab.
