Probe into alleged irregularities demanded

CHITRAL: Some residents of far-off Khot village of Chitral district have called for a probe into the funds spent by the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP) on different projects in the last two years.

Speaking at a news conference at the Chitral Press Club on Wednesday, Rasheed Mehmood, Gul Naib Khan and Mehmood Ali Shah said the anti-graft bodies should investigate to know if the community had benefitted from the huge funds spent under the projects implemented by the AKRSP.

They alleged that local staff had trampled vision and mission of the founder of the AKRSP founder Prince Karim Aga Khan as enormous funds were being spent on the projects but substandard work was done due to alleged corruption.

The residents alleged that there was no check and balance system in the AKRSP and the development schemes were either left incomplete or carried out using substandard material.

They alleged that a hydel power station completed recently in the Khot village with Rs20 million fund was a good example of the incapability of the AKRSP staff as the power station had stopped working due to substandard construction.