Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday announced a sweeping austerity and energy-saving plan, saying the steps were necessary as the country confronts a global fuel crisis triggered by the ongoing conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran. Pakistan, like several other economies, is facing fuel supply disruptions following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical passage for global energy supplies. The disruption began after Iran retaliated against US bases in the Middle East following joint strikes by the United States and Israel, complicating oil shipments across the region. Amid tightening supplies, Pakistan increased petrol and diesel prices by 20 per cent and rolled out nationwide austerity measures aimed at cutting fuel consumption and government spending. Region "In A State Of War" In a televised address to the nation, Sharif said the wider region had been engulfed in conflict and stressed that Pakistan was working through diploma...
In a sign of his confidence in the work he has done, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said he has decided not to put up any posters or banners for the Lok Sabha elections next year, nor will he offer any inducements to voters. "I have served you. Vote for me if you like, don't if you do not want to," Mr Gadkari told a public gathering in Maharashtra.
Speaking during the inauguration of a road in Washim on Saturday, Mr Gadkari said in Marathi that he will not bribe (give chai-paani to) the voters and that he would not indulge in corruption, nor let them indulge in it.
"I have decided that I will not put up any banners or posters for the next Lok Sabha elections and will not give any chai-paani. You will not get the darshan of Goddess Lakshmi (a colloquial way of saying one won't get money), nor will you get domestic or foreign liquor. I will not indulge in corruption and won't let you indulge in it either," he said.
Mr Gadkari, who is the minister for Road Transport and Highways, is the Lok Sabha Member of Parliament from the Nagpur constituency.
On Thursday, the minister had said that the government is working on a policy to ensure that there are no potholes on national highways by the end of the year. The ministry is also preferring to undertake construction of roads using the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model as such projects are maintained better, he had said.
Generally, road construction is done using three models - BOT, Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC), and Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM).
"The roads which are constructed under the EPC mode require maintenance quite early whereas, under the BOT mode, roads are better constructed as the contractor knows that he will have to bear the cost of maintenance for the next 15-20 years," news agency PTI quoted Mr Gadkari as saying.
from NDTV News- Special https://ift.tt/mvNIFAY
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