Solar-driven water scheme inaugurated in far-off Bara village

BARA: The dwellers of the far-off Hussainabad village in the Bara tehsil of Khyber tribal district were overjoyed as the first-ever solar-driven project was inaugurated to provide clean drinking water to the area.

Member National Assembly (MNA) Iqbal Afridi, who was chief guest, opened the project which was built by the Sarhad Rural Support Programme (SRSP) under its German Government Funded and KFW financed “Reintegration and Rehabilitation of Temporarily Displaced Persons (TDPs) in NMD” project with the active participation of the community.

Representatives of the district administration, officials of SRSP and scores of community elders and villagers attended the ceremony.

“We were considering leaving this area due to non-availability of water. All our prayers are with the government, the SRSP and government of Germany for making the impossible as possible. Now water is available at every house,“ said a community elder Haji Kubar Jan as his eyes welled with tears of joy.

Speaking on the occasion, the MNA said, “SRSP deserves appreciation as it addressed the issues faced by communities in the newly merged districts.

I also appreciate the efforts of this community for making efforts to undertake this project in a short time.

It’s only through a participatory approach to development that the far-flung parts of the country witness development.”

He also announced that a link road for this village would be added to the Annual Development Plan to develop the area.

A representative of the SRSP said the project would benefit over 120 households of the village.

He lauded both the federal and provincial governments for supporting the development initiatives in tribal districts.

“We are carrying out all projects with the cooperation of security forces and government officials in tribal districts,” he added.

The SRSP representative added that the reintegration and Rehabilitation of TDP’s in NMD” project was being implemented in Kurram, Khyber, Orakzai, North Waziristan and South Waziristan districts with funding from the German government and financial facilitation of the KFW.

About 240 infrastructure schemes would be completed in the mentioned districts and over 3400 community members would be trained in different skills so that they could eke out a living to enhance the socioeconomic condition of the recently returned TDPs.