October 26, 2001	Friday	Shaba'an 8, 1422

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MUZAFFARABAD, Oct 25: AJK Prime Minister Sardar Sikandar Hayat Khan has assured the residents of Mirpur that they will be taken into confidence about a proposed plan to raise the level of the Mangla dam.

No decision will be taken against the interests of the people and the country, he said, speaking at a public meeting during his visit to the area on Thursday.

He said the purpose of a survey being conducted by Wapda was to apprise the people of the benefits or the losses of the plan.

Almost all Mirpur-based Kashmiri leaders, including the former premier and sitting leader of the opposition in the AJK assembly, Barrister Sultan Mahmood, are opposed to the execution of this plan, fearing that it will displace thousands of people and submerge a major portion of the district.

Mr Khan said a dry port would be established in the city shortly as the decision for it had been taken at the federal government level. On its part, he added, the AJK government had removed all bottlenecks in that regard.

He announced that a radio station would also be set up in the district at the earliest to promote local culture and languages.

The project to provide Sui gas to the area would also be finalized within the next five or six months, he said, adding that four tubewells would be installed by the end of March to overcome the scarcity of drinking water in the city.

The prime minister told the gathering that he had directed the board of revenue to provide funds for the completion of Bhutto Park and a library in Mirpur. He also announced some schemes for the Dadyal sub-division, saying that metalling of Dhan Galli-Plak Road would be started soon and the Dadyal Dhan Galli Bridge would be constructed.

He said he had approved fresh posts of doctors and teachers for the Dadyal hospital and college, respectively, to facilitate the people of the sub-division.

Mr Khan said a degree college for girls would be established in Afzalpur, and new grid stations would be built in the industrial areas of Mirpur and Dadyal to facilitate the existing units and to promote investment.