BADIN: Sindh Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs Dr Sinkandar Mandhro has said that a cadet college is being established in Badin with a cost of Rs1.5 billion to impart quality education to students from different parts of Sindh. “It will be a gift for the people of Badin from the Sindh government,” he said, adding that Rs300 million had already been released for the construction of the institution.

Dr Mandhro was speaking to the media at Badin Darbar Hall on Saturday.

He said that the project would be completed within four years.

The minister also spoke on various development projects. He said that the provincial government was paying full attention to the uplift of rural and urban areas. “We are particularly focusing on the province’s coastal belt with a view to overhauling the entire infrastructure. Planning is under way to underline appropriate measures against sea intrusion and environmental degradation in the coastal areas, he said.

Dr Mandhro, who earlier visited Indus Hospital, expressed his pleasure over its handling of the affairs of the Badin Civil Hospital observing that there had been a marked improvement in the service delivery after the management of the civil hospital was taken over by the Indus hospital under the public-private partnership venture.

He expressed his confidence that the civil hospital would have modern machinery, equipment and services, like those available at the Aga Khan Hospital in Karachi, in the near future.

He said the a 300-bed hospital was being built for which 50 acres had been allotted. It would start functioning by the end of this year and the Badin Civil Hospital, under the management of the Indus Hospital, would then be shifted to the new building, he said. “My dream of providing all healthcare facilities to the poor free of cost at fully equipped hospital has come true,” said Dr Mandhro.

He recalled that it was the first hospital handed over to the Indus Hospital under the public-private partnership venture, under the relevant legislation, by the Sindh Health Advisory Board.

He said 315 jobs were being created for unemployed youths hailing from Badin and they included 124 posts of grade 16-20.

In reply to a question about recent developments in the investigation into the kidnapping of Sindh High Court chief justice’s son Awais Shah, Dr Mandhro said: “No one is above the law; whoever is found involved in the offence will have to face action”.

Senator Karim Khowaja, who was accompanying Dr Mandhro, recounted the projects and schemes executed by the PPP government in Sindh in the health, education and other sectors during its current tenure.Earlier, Indus Hospital chief executive officer Dr Abdul Bari briefed the minister about the health facilities and services added to the civil hospital by his management. He said that not only the people of Badin district but those hailing from some other districts particular Tharparkar were among tens of thousands of patients benefiting from the modern facilities. “We are in the process of establishing another such modern hospital in the Thar Coal project area,” he said.

Dr Mandhro along with MPA Mir Allah Bukhsh Talpur, Mir Kashif Talpur and other PPP leaders also spoke at a couple of public meetings held in the Shadi Large and Navy Chak areas in the evening.

He lashed out at estranged PPP leader and former home minister Dr Zulfikar Mirza, his spouse former National Assembly Speaker Dr Fehmida Mirza and other family members for “betraying the party”. He predicted that the people of Badin would reject the family in the next general elections. with party.

Published in Dawn, July 17th, 2016