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| July 20, 2005 | Wednesday | Jumadi-us-Sani 12, 1426 |
540 development schemes completed in Mansehra
PESHAWAR, July 19: The Barani Area Development Project (BADP) Mansehra unit has initiated 565 uplift and training schemes at an estimated cost of Rs29.16 million in the district during 2004-05 under phase II of the project. These 540 schemes costing Rs16.76 million have been completed while work on the remaining 25 schemes is underway which would cost Rs12.39 million. These development activities would benefit over 102,718 individuals so far either directly or indirectly. More than 48 per cent of women benefited from the schemes.
The District Director of the BADP, Sardar Nisar Ahmed presented these figures at a briefing given to Mir Laiq Shah, Additional Chief Secretary (ACS), NWFP, who visited Mansehra on Tuesday to review the BADP projects.
He was informed that BADP, Mansehra was carrying out its activities in three different sectors under phase II to improve the economic conditions of rural and remote areas of the district. The director said that an amount of Rs2.39 million was earmarked for 125 schemes For rural development, Rs3.6 million for 56 projects of infrastructure development and Rs10.7 million for 384 schemes under natural resource conservation.
Sardar Nisar said that in addition to providing health care facilities to the people of far-flung areas by holding free medical camps, the other schemes include training of lady teachers, lady health visitors and traditional birth attendants as well as courses on driving, tailoring, embroidery, bead works, candle making, tie and dying, carpentry, electricity and refrigeration. An exhibition of the handicrafts made by the BADP trained women has also been arranged to introduce the hand-made products for marketing purpose.
Highlighting the salient features, the director said that the projects about sanitation, construction of offices for women employees of public sector, construction of hostels for under-training women, installation of hand pumps and irrigation tubewells, construction of roads and establishment of small hydro power stations were initiated under this sector.
Similarly, the director said, under the NRM sector various schemes of agriculture, animal husbandry, forests conservation, protection of wild life, soil conservation, poultry and horticulture were launched and most of them have been completed during the recent financial year. The director also apprised the ACS about the future plans of the project as well as the difficulties being faced by the project in different areas.
Mir Laiq Shah appreciated the efforts and especially the approach of the project towards achievement of its goals. He remarked that the BADP Mansehra selected very important sectors and quite suitable areas for the uplift. He said that the approach and strategy adopted by BADP would be introduced in other districts of the province.
Assuring every possible support from the provincial government he hoped that the district government would also continue its support and cooperation to make the project a success.
The ACS emphasised the need to concentrate on production of cash crops and also explore the ways and means to commercially promote the skills of BADP trained people so that they could economically stand on their own feet.
Asking the district departments to coordinate each other and accelerate their efforts in this regard he said setting up of fish farms, arrangement for fruit and vegetables preservation and introduction of better breeds of cattle in district Mansehra can help a long way to develop the natural resource sector in a sustainable manner.—PPI
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