Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad Metropolitan Corporation (IMC) has chalked out a comprehensive short and long-term plan for the development of federal capital according to international standards, said IMC Mayor Sheikh Ansar Aziz on Wednesday.

While addressing a press conference along with three deputy mayors, he said that the division between urban and rural areas of the federal capital would be eliminated.

The mayor said that the metropolitan corporation would launch both long-term and short-term initiatives for the betterment of the people living in the federal capital.

He said that the metropolitan corporation is focusing on the civic facilities like road infrastructures, public transport and health.

Ansar Aziz said that various departments of Capital Development Authority (CDA) would be handed over to IMC in next week and development work would be started after handing over these departments.

He said, “Every union council would get a mini hospital. The infrastructure of the basic health units would be developed further to turn them into a mini hospital so that rush in the main hospitals of the capital could be curtailed.”

The mayor said that Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) and PolyClinic Hospital would be upgraded to provide better health facilities for the residents of the capital adding that the federal capital had a severe problem of clean drinking water and to address this issue various tube wells would be installed in rural areas of the capital.

He said that main water line would also be laid from Ghazi Barotha to Islamabad to meet the water requirement of the city for next 25 years.

He said that the sewerage, electricity and water lines are dilapidated adding that these lines would be repaired properly.

Meanwhile, National Assembly (NA) Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq said that the newly elected mayor of federal capital could play a significant role in resolving the civic issues confronted by citizens of capital. The NA speaker expressed these views during a meeting with Islamabad Metropolitan Corporation (IMC) Mayor Sheikh Ansar Aziz.

Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq congratulated Sheikh Ansar Aziz on securing a seat of IMC mayor and said that his election was an evidence of trust and confidence of party leadership and elected representatives of the corporation.

He said that the Metropolitan Corporation could play a significant role in resolving the civic issues confronted by citizen of the federal capital.

He expressed his confidence that under sagacious leadership of Sheikh Ansar Aziz the capital territory would become a model city for the rest of the country. He assured his support to the representatives of the civic body.

Meanwhile, during the meeting NA deputy speaker also congratulated Sheikh Ansar Aziz and expressed the hope that he would come up to the expectations of the citizens of the federal capital.

He said that it was the first ever-local government elections held in the capital territory and it would require a lot of work to initiate the metropolitan operations from the beginning adding that the rural areas surrounding the city needs special attention for development.

He urged the newly elected mayor to provide facilitations and ensure proper registration of people relocating from different parts of the country.

He extended his best wishes to the newly elected representatives and leadership of Islamabad Metropolitan Corporation.

The newly elected IMC Mayor Sheikh Ansar Aziz thanked the NA speaker and the deputy speaker for expressing their confidence and assured them that he would make all possible efforts to fulfill the responsibilities entrusted by the people of capital and to address the difficulties faced by them.

He said that governing the capital would be a difficult task but he along with his team would take every possible measure to address the challenges under the guidance of the visionary leadership of Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N).