CM says country inching towards prosperity

MINGORA/BATKHELA: Chief Minister Mahmood Khan said on Sunday that Pakistan was marching ahead on the path to development and prosperity under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan.

He said the federal and provincial governments were serving the masses with devotion. “Though we are working for the development of the whole province, including Swat, we are facing a big challenge to overcome the backwardness of the tribal districts. However, we will soon be successful in removing the backwardness of the tribal belt,” he added.

He was addressing a ceremony to open natural gas project at Balogram in Swat. The project will help resolve the longstanding issue of gas loadshedding and low pressure on permanent basis. The project will cost Rs2276.5 million.

Provincial Minister for Mines Dr Amjad, Chairman DDAC Swat Fazal Hakim Khan, Members National Assembly Saleem ur Rehman, Junaid Akbar Khan, Members Provincial Assembly Azizullah Gran, Mian Sharafat Ali, Pir Musawwir Ghazi, Deputy Commissioner Swat Saqib Raza Aslam and other officials attended the ceremony.

Mahmood Khan said the project would solve the problem of gas pressure, which was longstanding demand of the people of Swat district. However, he said the problem of overbilling was alarming and it should be addressed.

He said improving the supply of electricity in Swat was another goal to achieve. He added that the issue of low voltage would be addressed by upgrading the transmission lines.

He said that he wanted to ensure rapid development of the Malakand division including Swat. “Today the people are feeling a marked difference in the work of the past and the current governments,” he added.

The chief minister said the 500-bed hospital in Saidu Sharif would be inaugurated in June, for which he had approved 600 vacancies.

He said Rs2 billion had been allocated to purchase medical equipment and machinery for the hospital.

He said the contractors would be paid the outstanding arrears.

Mahmood Khan said that he was aware of the issue of admissions in Swat colleges and was working on it. The federal minister of communication was also from Swat so this valley was being connected with the modern communication system, he added.

He said it has been decided to expand the Swat Motorway to Mingora after its inauguration, on which work had been started so that all the highways in Swat could be opened for the tourists.

Earlier, speaking at a gathering in Batkhela, the chief minister announced the establishment of a 220kv grid station in Thana town in Malakad to address the issue of low voltage and electricity load-shedding.

He said that under the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme, loans would be extended to the youth. Mahmood Khan also announced the establishment of the campus of the Technical University, construction of hostel for the doctors of the Dargai Hospital and establishment of a children’s park and upgradation of a hospital in Thana town. The chief minister planted a sapling in Dargai to launch the tree plantation drive.