March 6, 2003	Thursday	Muharram 2, 1424

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MINGORA, March 5: The District Nazim of Swat, Dr Mehboobur Rehman, has asked the authorities of the Malakand Rural Development Project (MRDP) to start construction of roads in its jurisdiction to remove unrest among the people.

The Nazim held a meeting on Tuesday with MRDP director Jamshidul Hassan and informed him of the difficulties faced by the people because of the dilapidated roads, said a statement.

He said majority of people in Swat were dependent on tourism, but as in these conditions, tourists would not take the risk to visit Swat, the people’s economic wellbeing would suffer. The Nazim also stressed the need for work on development be expedited.

The project director assured the Nazim that construction work on the roads would be started. The roads in Swat as well as in all other districts would be constructed on the pattern of roads in Peshawar and Islamabad, the statement concluded.

TRANSPORT FARES: The transporters of passenger vehicles in Malakand division have once again raised fares on their own on all routes.

They say they had to do it in view of the ever-increasing prices of the petroleum products and the reluctance of the government to increase the fares officially.

The passengers obviously are against the fare increase but the authorities have not yet addressed the issue. During last few months the fares have been raised without the permission of the authorities concerned.

The people are criticizing the government functionaries for their failure to keep a check on fare rates.

However, neither the police nor the local government officials are taking interest in resolving the issue.