Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar laid the foundation stone of Firdous Market Underpass Project on Monday. Talking on this occasion, the CM told that a sum of one billion and 76 crore rupees will be spent on this project which includes land acquisition as well. Giving the details, he added that construction cost was estimated at one billion and nine crore rupees but the government saved a sum of Rs13 crore through transparent tendering and now, the construction cost would be Rs96 crore. He commended the LDA for saving Rs13 crore adding that the PTI government is the custodian of every penny. This project is estimated to be completed in a period of four months but the LDA has been directed to finish it in 90 days, he said. The CM emphasized that he will personally supervise this important project as like the supervision of development schemes of backward areas. The public resources were dissipated in the past but the incumbent government has saved the public money, he continued. Money minting was the preference of the past tenure but this government saves money to spend it on public welfare. The CM continued that the credit of saving a huge amount of construction cost goes to the policies of the incumbent government. He maintained that this 540-meter long two-lane dual carriageway underpass will facilitate the traffic of the neighbouring areas. The underpass facility will be comprised of double lanes on both sides with special arrangements for water disposal. He told that around seven Kanal land will be acquired for this project assuring that no building at Firdous Market Chowk will be affected. This project will benefit more than 91 thousand vehicles daily to save fuel worth crores of rupees annually, he said. The CM said that this project will solve the traffic problems and citizens’ precious time will not be wasted. He reiterated that inhabitants of the provincial metropolis will be provided more facilities and the sewerage and water supply systems will also be improved. DG LDA Ahmad Aziz Tarar briefed the CM about the project. Provincial Ministers Mian Mehmood-ur-Rasheed, Fayyaz-ul-Hassan Chohan, Murad Raas, Vice Chairman LDA Sheikh Muhammad Imran, Punjab assembly members Sadia Sohail Rana, Umer Aftab Dhillon, Secretary Information, DC Lahore and others were also present on this occasion. Meanwhile, Usman Buzdar stated that more than 6.53 billion rupees have been distributed in deserving families in five days under CM Punjab Insaf Imdad Programme and Ehsaas Programme. In a statement, the CM told that more than five lac and 44 thousand deserving families have been given financial aid in a very transparent manner. A total of 25 lac deserving families will be provided aid and more than 600 camps have been set up throughout the province to provide financial assistance to the needy, he said. The CM maintained that poor strata has been affected due to coronavirus and consequent lockdown and added the government is duty-bound to help such segments of the society. A most transparent financial aid Programme of this magnitude has been introduced, for the first time, in the history of the province, the CM concluded. Chief Minister Punjab Sardar Usman Buzdar has said that decisions have been made with consultations under the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan to deal with coronavirus pandemic. In a statement issued here on Monday, the CM pointed out that opposition has no strategy or any agenda for dealing with coronavirus and it is only point-scoring over this pandemic. He regretted that opposition politicized this important issue but the Punjab government started working on eight new labs immediately which are functional now. He pointed out that maximum tests are being conducted in Punjab as compared with other provinces and added that approval of setting up four more labs has also been granted to enhance the diagnostic testing capacity. New labs are being set up in Sialkot and Sargodha in the first phase, he added. Meanwhile, the daily testing capacity of Punjab has increased to more than six thousand, he added. The CM said that Pakistan is facing unusual circumstances and public cooperation is imperative to defeat the coronavirus pandemic. He said that people should exhibit a socially-responsible behaviour after the opening of markets because they will remain safe by following necessary precautions. The government wants to save the people from coronavirus as well as hunger, the CM stressed.