Punjab Government will distribute 2Lakh solar lamps before elections

Lahore: Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif has said that the worst energy crisis has made acquisition of knowledge extremely difficult for the younger generation. He said, due to severe energy crisis, agriculture, industry, commerce, education, health and other social sectors are getting badly impacted. He said the students are facing a lot of difficulty and problems in acquiring education, due to power outages. He informed that Punjab government has chalked out a programme for free-of-cost solar lamps distribution, among girl and boy students of matric and intermediate, under “Ujala Programme”, which would soon be initiated.

Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif was presiding over a high-level meeting held in connection with the “Chief Minister Ujala Programme”, at Model Town, which was also attended by Senator Pervaiz Rashid, Special Assistant to Chief Minister Punjab Zaeem Hussain Qadri, Deputy Speaker Punjab Assembly Rana Mashhood Ahmad Khan, Member National Assembly Saira Afzar Tarar, Chairman Planning & Development, Secretary Energy and secretaries of other departments alongwith Chief Executive ‘Akhuwat’ Dr. Amjad Saqib.

Addressing the meeting, Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif said that shortage of electricity has made the lives of the people miserable, ending commercial activities and rendering millions of workers jobless due to closure of industries. Similarly, he said, a negative impact has been registered on health and education sectors, as girl and boy students are facing extreme difficulty in continuing their academic activities. He said while Punjab government is expeditiously implementing alternative energy projects, to overcome energy shortage, “Ujala Programme” is also being initiated to enable the builders of the future to continue their academic activities, under which free-of-cost solar lamps, would be distributed among girl and boy students. He said solar lamps would be distributed, purely on merit basis and in a transparent manner, among the girl and boy student of government educational institutions, enabling the younger generation to continue their studies, even during loadshedding. Chief Minister announced that over two lakh solar lamps would be distributed throughout the province, while all arrangements have been made in this connection. He directed to also review the possibility of providing solar lamps to the students of religious seminaries.

Secretary Energy, Jahanzeb Khan gave a detailed briefing regarding solar lamps distribution, among the students under “Chief Minister Ujala Programme”.