China gives Rs1,668m to repair schools in Khyber Agency

LANDIKOTAL: The Chinese government has given Rs1,668 million to repair 68 state-run schools damaged in militancy-related incidents in Khyber Agency, a senior administrative official said on Thursday.

Political Agent Captain (retd) Khalid Mehmood said for the first time, the Chinese government was taking interest in rehabilitating the infrastructure of the state-run schools in Khyber Agency.

"In the first phase of the financial assistance by Chinese government, they will reconstruct and repair 68 government-run schools that had been destroyed by militants during the last several years in Bara," said Khalid Mehmood.

He said a total of 98 schools had been destroyed by terrorists in Bara. However, he added that they have reconstructed 16 of the schools and provided them solar systems. With the financial assistance of the Governor’s Special Development Programme (GSDP), he said, six-room schools had been constructed at a cost of Rs12 million.

He said that not only schools, but other installations had also been affected by terrorist activities. The official said a sum of Rs1.8 billion had been allocated in the Annual Development Programme this year for 232 different projects in Khyber Agency. He said they have started activities to set up modern schools.

He said peace had been restored in most parts of the agency and now they were focusing attention on health and education sectors. The official said that work on Rural Health Centres (RHCs) in Loey Shalman and Bazaar Zakhakhel was underway and it would be completed in two years.

He added that the Landi Khana water supply scheme in Landikotal was one of the mega projects, which would provide drinking water to 80 per cent residents in Landikotal. He said that Rs4 million had been released to the Education Department to provide missing facilities in government schools. The political agent said they were in contact with the Fata Secretariat to ensure teaching staff for the degree college and specialist doctors to the hospital in Landikotal.