Youth festival is a permanent programme :CM Punjab

Lahore: Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif has said that Punjab youth festival is a massive programme to bring forward the talent of the youth and through this festival, opportunities of healthy activities have been provided to the young generation. He said that youth festival has become a permanent programme of Punjab government.

He was addressing a function in connection with Punjab Youth Festival 2014 at Chief Minister’s office, here today. Provincial Minister for Education and Sports Rana Mashhood Ahmed Khan, Vice Chairman Punjab Investment Board Maratab Ali, DG Sports Board, senior government officials and office-bearers of various trade and industrial organizations were present on the occasion.

The Chief Minister said that youth are a precious asset of the nation and the goal of national development and prosperity can be achieved through their economic empowerment. He said that Punjab government has adopted a comprehensive strategy for the progress of the youth. He said that revolutionary progammes like Punjab Educational Endowment Fund, Self Employment Scheme, Internship Programme, Skills Development Programme, Laptop and Youth Festival have been started for the young generation. He said that children of more than fifty thousand low income families are studying at prestigious educational institutions with the help of educational endowment fund. He said that a sum of two billion rupees is added to this educational fund every year and its volume will reach the figure of twenty billion rupees after five years and it will become a biggest educational fund of South Asia. He said that ten lakh children are studying under the voucher scheme of Punjab Education Foundation. He said that British Development Organization, DFID impressed with the performance of Punjab Educational Endowment Fund has given Rs.1.5 billion for the fund. Referring to the efforts of the government for resolving energy crisis, the Chief Minister said that Punjab government has announced a big project of generation of low cost electricity from coal. He said that the government is setting up coal power plants of 1320 megawatt in Sahiwal with its own resources which will start electricity production during next three years. He said that besides Sahiwal, five sites have also been identified in different areas of Punjab for establishing coal based power projects. The Chief Minister said that investors should make investment in energy sector and assured that Punjab government will provide them all facilities under one window operation. He said that Nandipur Power Project has also been revived and it will start producing 150 megawatt electricity from May.

He said that federal government is making sincere efforts for overcoming shortage of electricity and work is also carried out on hydle power projects. He said that effective steps have been taken for the elimination of corruption from the province and that is why no corruption case has surfaced during the last eight months.

Provincial Education Minister, Rana Mashhood Ahmed Khan speaking on the occasion, said that youth festival has become a movement. He said that only those nations progress which promote healthy activities. He said that a number of world records have been set in the youth festival which has brought fame to the country. He said that work is being carried-out on the project of setting up sports academies at district level. A documentary film on Youth Festival 2014 was also shown in the function.