Committee to decide fate of proposed Mansehra airport

MANSEHRA: National Assembly’s sub-committee of standing committee on planning and reform would decide fate of an airport being built in Tanawal area here as Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government announced scraping of it earlier this year.

“The members of sub-committee are shortly going to visit the airport site in Tanawal and submit a comprehensive report with the head of the standing committee to see either this is viable one or not,” Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz MNA Mohammad Sajjad Awan told reporters here on Saturday. Awan, who is a member of the sub-committee, had taken up the airport issue in the National Assembly, following which head of standing committee on planning and reforms formed sub-committee to submit its report.

He said that not only lawmakers from Hazara division but also from across the country backed the airport project, saying that the airport might be supportive to mega projects being executed under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor initiatives in Hazara division as there exists no airport.

Awan said the sub-committee was having representations from the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf through MNA Saleh Mohammad Khan, Pakistan People’s Party through MNA Aga Rafiullah and he himself representing PML-N. He said that airport project was sanctioned by previous PML-N government and Civil Aviation Authority (CVA) had released an amount of Rs327 million for land acquisition. “The district administration was tasked by CAA to acquire a 6301 kanals land and it not only acquired land but was about to disburse money among landowners but government stopped work on it,” said Awan.

Mobile sale of flour

The district administration has launched sale of flour through trucks to counter the commodity’s artificial shortage being created by hoarders.

“We have been selling flour on a subsidised price in Oghi and its suburbs in order to provide relief to people and counter unjustified raise in prices,” Mohammad ShojainVistro, the assistant commissioner, told reporters after inaugurating sale of flour on subsidised price in Oghi on Saturday.

He said that though a crackdown was also underway across the district to check flour price hike and artificial shortage, mobile sale of the basic commodity was a relief for the people.

Flour bags transported through a truck from mills in Mansehra are sold to public at central chowk and a 20kg bag is priced at Rs800, against the market rate of Rs900 to Rs950.