MARDAN, Jan 3: NWFP Irrigation and Religious Affairs Minister HafizAkhtar Ali said on Friday that the provincial government had initiated development works of millions of rupees in the remote areas.

Speaking at a public meeting at Katlang, he claimed that a number of projects had been completed and more would be completed soon.

He said that with the Tamir-i-Sarhad and the annual development programmes, the irrigation department had also initiated several uplift schemes.

He said Rs22.08 million would be spent on the construction of roads and bridges in Mardan district, adding the government was giving attentionto electricity supply to the backward areas and power transformers had been installed in different areas in Mardan to solve the problem of low voltage.

He said funds were being provided for the upgradation of the civil hospital and a number of schools at Katlang.