Only selected areas of Buzdar’s constituency benefit from uplift works

Barthi, the ancestral village of Sardar Usman Buzdar, which even did not have electricity prior to his becoming the Punjab chief minister, has now lights everywhere, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Sunday.

Not only the village has electricity today, but also a hospital, a bank, a police station, a rescue center and also a stadium for the youth to play. 

24News has learnt that Buzdar sanctioned funds of over Rs12 billion when he became the provincial chief minister three years ago not only for the development of his village but also of his native city Taunsa Sharif, a tehsil.

And now when after the passage of three years, half of these funds have been utilized, it has come to light that the development works have mostly been carried out only in Punjab chief minister’s village, to the exclusion of all others surrounding it which also located in the same constituency from where he was elected as member of the Punjab Assembly and later went on to become the provincial chief minister.  

So much so that although new roads were built and the old ones were repaired in Barthi, same is not the case with its neighbouring villages where the roads are still in a dilapidated condition; where schoolchildren are seen without uniforms, and where the dispensaries, which had been inaugurated by Buzdar’s late father, are all shut.  

The official documents obtained by this channel show that work on development schemes worth over Rs10 billion has been initiated in tehsil Taunsa Sharif, most of which have been completed while work is underway on others. 

Similarly, over Rs1 billion have so far been spent on the beautification of the city, which includes repair of streets and roads and that of the sewerage system, besides installation of streetlights.

But the condition of streetlights is such that most of them are non-functional, while the state of the Indus Highway leading to Taunsa Sharif is still pathetic. And to make matters worse, construction work on the highway is also stalled. 

Likewise, the buses, which had been dispatched to Taunsa Sharif from Lahore, are not of any use and are merely a ‘showpiece’.

Similarly, no progress has been made on the development of a park at the entrance of the city, and the situation is that the site on which it is to be built is still in ruins.

Talking to 24News, residents of Taunsa Sharif have said that Chief Minister Usman Buzdar’s village and few other areas frequented by him have received a lion’s share of the development works. 

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However, most of the people have said that although development schemes have been carried out in their area, but still it will be far better if Buzdar sets up an industrial unit here so that job opportunities could be created for them.   

They have said though the chief minister has spent billions of rupees on the development of Taunsa Sharif and other areas, especially his village, but they will be much happier if he also makes arrangements for their livelihoods.

Reporter Ali Ramay