People of Mandi Bahauddin have criticized Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif for reducing bed capacity of under construction new District Headquarters (DHQ) hospital from 258 to 170.
MANDI BAHAUDDIN, (Pakistan Point News - 30th Jan, 2018) : People of Mandi Bahauddin have criticized Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif for reducing bed capacity of under construction new District Headquarters (DHQ) hospital from 258 to 170. They said Chief Minister’s claims during his visit to Malakwal for fulfilling promises he made during general elections campaign were unfounded. They said the development schemes he inaugurated were sanctioned and started during PML-Q and PPP regimes.
They said that the new 258-bed DHQ hospital with tertiary facilities project was approved in 2004 by Gen Musharraf during his visit to Mona Depot. It was decided that its cost and expenditure would be shared by Federal Government and Punjab Government on equal basis. Federal government then headed by President Asif Zardari released funds of its share and project started. The people alleged that since PMLN could not win any seat in this district during elections 2008, Punjab CM being from PMLN did not release his share of funds to take revenge for defeating PMLN candidates.
Therefore the project work was suspended due to lack of funds. In 2013 elections the CM vowed to complete the DHQ hospital project and bring Mandi Bahauddin at level of Faisalabad. People believing in his promises rejected other parties’ candidate and voted in favor of PMLN. AS result his party grabbed all National and Provincial seats in the district, but despite that DHQ project remained incomplete. Now it is learnt that bed capacity of the health project has been reduced and it would be secondary health facility DHQ hospital, and not tertiary one.
Recently work on the project has restarted and CM had promised its completion before coming general elections. People are of the opinion that start of work is to woo the voters. With reference to dual highway from Gujrat to Head Faqirian, this project was initiated with the efforts PPP parliamentarians of this district during CM’s previous term and was completed from Gujrat to Laither village before 2013. Other most of the road construction projects were also planned and started/completed during PMLQ and PPP governments’ tenure.
However, from Laither to Head Faqirian dual high way had recently been completed with the efforts MNA Nasir Bosal. About Road Bridge on river Jhelum project near Chak Nazaam was inaugurated twice by PMLN, twice by PPP and once by Gen Musharraf in the past but no work was executed after the inauguration ceremonies. This time people are also not certain about the fate of the road bridge project.
