Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif witnessed the signing of memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Transport Department and Bank of Punjab for provision of 20,000 bikes to students on easy installments, here on Wednesday.
Secretary Transport Ahmed Javed Qazi and President Bank of Punjab Zafar Masood signed the MoU.
Terming the step a revolutionary initiative for students, the CM said that these bikes would be provided to students under the Chief Minister’s Youth Initiative scheme.
She said 19,000 petrol and 1,000 electric bikes would be given to students free of interest in monthly installments, adding that the monthly installment of petrol bike would be Rs 5000, whereas it would be less than Rs 10,000 for the e-bike.
The CM said the Punjab government would bear interest on providing bikes to students on easy installments in collaboration with the Bank of Punjab, adding that the provision of bikes to students would revolutionise their lives. Personal ride would ensure ease of travel and saving of time in their daily lives, which would lead to improvement in their academic performance, she asserted. The chief minister noted that equal representation of male and female students in the distribution of bikes is welcome. The CM also inspected the proposed electric and petrol bikes for students.
She asked about the price of the bikes and checked their quality, and directed to match color of bikes with the color of Punjab governments green logo. Registration of students for bikes would start as soon as possible, she informed and maintained that after the draw in May, delivery of bikes would start in the same month.
