January 11, 2002	Friday	Shawwal 26, 1422

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window).

PESHAWAR, Jan 10: NWFP Governor Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah said here on Thursday that various development projects would be carried out in Peshawar, costing Rs128 million.

The projects, he said, were to be launched within a month’s time, and the provincial government would look into the possibility of giving a matching amount for various uplift activities in Peshawar.

He made the announcement at the ground-breaking ceremony of the reconstruction of Surai Pul (Rehman Baba Square) intersection, held at the lawns of Radio Pakistan.

The ceremony was attended by provincial ministers, district Nazim, town Nazims, councillors and city elite.

Addressing the ceremony, the governor said the expansion of Surai Pul was a big project and would be completed in different phases. Several flyovers of different types would be constructed so that the traffic problem could be solved at Surai Pul, situated at the confluence of several important roads, he said.

With the reconstruction of Rehman Baba Square, the flow of traffic would run smoothly without any blockade.

Syed Iftikhar announced that the provincial government would also allocate a matching amount for the development of Peshawar. “With the provision of resources by provincial government other proposed projects could also he completed without any hurdle.”

The governor further said that central jail Peshawar would be shifted to a location outside the city, and added that necessary directives to this effect had already been given to the concerned authorities.

Other projects that were to be launched, include establishment of city hospital and college at defunct corporation building, GTS bus stand, construction of park in Gore Gatri and expansion of Chowk Yadgar, etc.

The governor directed concerned authorities to complete the basic work for the project soon and moblilize all the available resources in this regard.

He said a great deal of improvement could be brought about in Peshawar in one year if the resources were used judiciously.

The city, he maintained, was facing many problems but scarcity of resources was the main hurdle in the progress. Since the resources were now available, there should be no delay or obstruction in resolving these problems.

Earlier, the governor was given a briefing on Rehman Baba Square with the help of charts and videos about the congestion of traffic at Surai Pul and the strategy for the construction of various flyovers, underpasses and link roads, etc.

Syed Iftikhar pointed out several deficiencies in various projects and ordered necessary improvements.

The project of constructing flyovers on Surai Pul would be completed in three phases. Other components of the project include expansion of Firdous Cinema road and construction of a square, flyover on hospital road and construction of road from Peshawar jail to Charsadda road. The first phase of the project would cost Rs50 million.

The governor said the plan, prepared for facilitating the vehicular traffic at Surai Pul, needed to be redesigned, taking into consideration the future needs and requirements.

He said the cost estimated for the project was highly exaggerated and needed to be rationalized.

Later, talking to the Nazims, Syed Iftikhar said the government had provided resources to all district governments and now it was their responsibility to involve themselves in the uplift activities fully, avoiding any wastage of resources,

The elected representatives should take care of their areas, discourage illegal encroachments, ensure cleanliness and arrange substitute places for the hand-driven carts so that traffic and life was not disturbed.