Sindh govt announces free housing for flood victims, EV bikes for women

The Sindh government has announced the launch of a housing project to provide 2.1 million free homes to victims of the 2022 flood, together with an initiative to distribute pink EV scooters to women every year, ARY News reported.

Sindh Minister for Information and Transport, Sharjeel Inam Memon, during a press conference, announced this upcoming initiative and emphasised the promise of the Sindh government to empower women and eco-friendly transportation.

After the shocking floods which demolished around 2.1 million homes three years back, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has vowed to reconstruct and provide free homes to all affected families.

According to Sharjeel Memon, this is the largest-scale development in history, and the possession of these homes will be registered under the names of women to empower them further.

Sharjeel Memon also mentioned that to motivate women and enhance their agility and independence, the Sindh government will also distribute pink EV scooters annually.

So far, 8,000 applications from women have been received for the scheme, and the government has started procuring EV bikes, ensuring that licensed women will be eligible to get them.

To support this initiative, training centres will be set up in Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Nawabshah, Benazirabad, and Mirpurkhas, where mothers, sisters, and daughters can get free training on riding and maintaining their scooters.

According to recent reports, 1,000 electric scooters will be distributed by the Sindh government in the first phase next month through a lottery system.

The program aims to give women safe, cheap, and green transportation. It will also create jobs with the electric taxi project, which is scheduled to start in June 2025.