MANSEHRA: Federal Minister for Water Resources Khursheed Shah during his visit to Upper Kohistan on Sunday expressed his satisfaction on the progress of work on the 4,300-megawatt Dasu hydropower project.

“I have visited the under-construction Dasu hydropower project which would not only meet the energy shortfall of the country, but also bring prosperity and development,” he said while speaking at a public meeting held in Suo village.

Mr Shah was earlier briefed by the dam’s general manager Anwarul Haq about the ongoing work on the dam being completed with the financial assistance of the World Bank.

“You people would be given priority in the employment at the dam and your other issues related to development projects would also be settled shortly,” he said.

Khursheed Shah says locals to be given priority in employment

The minister also announced Rs1 billion for the development of four tehsils of the district, saying besides that a 25-bed hospital would also be built in each tehsil.

Mr Shah said that because of the mismanagement of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government the country was facing high inflation and other economic challenges.

“We have been adopting measures to revive the economy and put the country on the path of prosperity and development,” he said. Pakistan Peoples Party’s general secretary Faisal Kareem Kundi also accompanied Mr Shah during his visit.

Speaking on the occasion, former MNA Mehboobur Rehman said people of Upper Kohistan were suffering problems because of the non-existence of the road and other infrastructure.

“The government should focus on resolving these issues,” he said.

TOURIST POLICE: Hazara Qaumi Mahaz Pakistan (HQMP) on Sunday staged a rally against the induction of non-locals in the Tourist Guide Police.

“We have not only launched a street agitation against the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, which ignored candidates from Abbottabad and Mansehra in Tourists Guide Police, but are also going to challenge it in the court of law,” HQMP provincial president Amjid Qudus told the protesters outside the press club here.

He said the government should withdraw the earlier appointment orders and carry out fresh recruitment process on merit.

Meanwhile, the Kaghan Development Authority allowed catching trout using fishing rod as a game. Earlier, it had imposed a ban on fishing of the endangered fish.

“We adopted measures to preserve the cold water indigenous fish and have now introduced fishing as a game for visitors,” KDA assistant director Asad Shahzad told mediapersons on Sunday.

He said that fishing with rod was inaugurated in a ceremony attended by local business community and tourists.

Published in Dawn,June 13th, 2022