CM Maryam Nawaz launches ration card scheme

LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif made a series of key announcements during her address at the Suthra Punjab ceremony held in Lahore on Tuesday, ARY News reported.

Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz announced the launch of ration cards for 150,000 Suthra Punjab workers, acknowledging their hard work and contribution to keeping Punjab clean. “I am proud to wear the uniform of the Suthra Punjab team today,” she said, adding, “If I, as Chief Minister, can wear a commando’s uniform, why can’t I wear the uniform of this team?”

She praised the sanitation workers, calling them the “real heroes of Punjab,” and extended her gratitude to the Suthra Punjab force for keeping the cities, towns, and villages clean. “The Suthra Punjab team has cleaned every corner of Punjab — from streets to neighborhoods — and I salute them for their service,” she stated.

Maryam Nawaz lauded the efforts of Rescue 1122, police, civil defense, commissioners, deputy commissioners, and cabinet members for their coordination during the recent floods, highlighting that Suthra Punjab workers even formed “human chains” to hold back floodwaters.

The Chief Minister commended Local Government Minister Zeeshan Rafique and the Secretary of Local Government for their performance, declaring that the Suthra Punjab team, comprising 150,000 workers, is the world’s largest sanitation force.

Criticizing previous governments, Maryam Nawaz said, “After Shahbaz Sharif’s government ended, the sanitation system also collapsed. During the era of ‘Gogi and Pinky,’ garbage piles covered every street and road.” She added that her government restored cleanliness across the province within months.

“During Eid-ul-Azha in the past, animal waste would remain in streets for weeks. Today, we clear everything within two hours,” she said, crediting the efficiency of the new system.

Maryam Nawaz emphasized that each district now has its own sanitation machinery, with 35,000 pieces of equipment and thousands of containers available across Punjab. “We are implementing a state-of-the-art Suthra Punjab system in every district within a year,” she announced.

CM Punjab highlighted the shift in public perception toward sanitation workers, saying, “People no longer call them ‘garbage collectors’ — they now respectfully call them ‘cleanliness workers.’”

Touching on broader governance, she said, “Education, healthcare, roads, and cleanliness are the people’s basic rights, and I am serving them with sincerity and dedication.” She also announced scholarships and laptops for talented students so that “no student’s education suffers.”

The Chief Minister declared that the crime rate in Punjab has dropped to zero, adding, “Those who harass women are now arrested within 24 hours.”

Taking a swipe at her critics, she remarked, “I am also cleaning the minds of those who burn with jealousy at Punjab’s progress.”

“Today, Shahbaz Sharif meets me and praises my performance,” she noted, recalling how critics once questioned her ability to manage such a large province.

Concluding her speech, Maryam Nawaz said, “A revolution of development and cleanliness is underway in Punjab. I also want to see Sindh, Balochistan, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa clean and prosperous. If roads are broken, buses are damaged, or essentials are expensive, people should question their own governments.”

“Development, cleanliness, laptops, and employment are the fundamental rights of the people — and I am committed to ensuring them,” she affirmed.

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