Mansehra district govt to seek funds from federal govt

Reconstruction of 300 schools 

MANSEHRA: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)-led district government, through Provincial Rehabilitation, Reconstruction and Settlement Authority (PaRRSA), has finalised a plan to seek funds from the prime minster for reconstruction of 300 schools, which had been destroyed in the 2005 earthquake.

The decision was taken at a meeting, attended by high-ups of the Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (Erra), Perra and district nazim, as follow-up to an earlier meeting of Federal Minster for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Sardar Yousuf with Erra chairman in Islamabad.

"Male and female students of more than 300 schools receive education either in tents or in open places as Erra didn't include these schools in its reconstruction strategy," District Nazim Sardar Said Ghulam told reporters on Friday.

He added that it was also decided to expedite the work on reconstruction schemes.

The nazim said the Provincial Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Agency (Perra) had already terminated carpeting contracts of seven major roads on delay in the district, which were being constructed at an estimated cost of Rs292 million and three more road carpeting contracts of Rs127 million were also recommended and dispatched to Erra for the termination.

"When 10 road projects worth Rs419 million would be retendered and awarded to new contractors to boost reconstruction process and provide relief to people in affected areas of the district," said Ghulam.

The district nazim said that currently carpeting work on different road projects in NA-21 was in progress with initial amount of Rs230 million and in NA-20 with initial amount of Rs256 million. Ghulam said that Perra, in collaboration with district government, had also evolved a strategy for timely completion of Erra-funded projects.

"We have also finalised a strategy that projects in most-affected areas would be constructed on priority basis," he said, adding: "Successive governments didn't pay any heed to reconstruction projects and this is why 11 years had passed since the devastating earthquake but people are still suffering the brunt of it."

He said that Sardar Mohammad Yousuf planned to call a conference of international non-governmental organisations, particularly those which had rushed to Mansehra following the 2005 earthquake, and left the area after initial relief work.