PESHAWAR, Sept 12: The NWFP’s chapter of the programme monitoring unit (PMU) of the National Programme for Improvement of Watercourses (NPIWs) has become functional, according to a press release issued here Monday.

Provincial coordinator Arbab Shahrukh in a meeting here with the PMU staff instructed monitoring officers to initiate the process of monitoring of those watercourses that have already been completed.

Nasir Mehmood Khosa has been appointed federal project director of the PMU, while Shah Rukh Arbab and Javed Marwat have been named provincial coordinator and deputy coordinator in the NWFP, respectively.

Six officers have been nominated to monitor the project.

For monitoring activities of the NPIWs, the NWFP has been divided into six zones with one monitoring officer for each zone.

The first monitoring team comprising three officers visited Kohat division and held meetings with the assistant director of water management in Hangu. The team was informed on the occasion that no fewer than 35 watercourses had been completed as against the target of 30 watercourses.

The target set for the current year 2005-06 is 60 watercourses of which so far five have been completed while another 20 are in the process of completion.

The second monitoring team headed by the deputy coordinator, Javed Marwat, visited different union councils of Toru and Maho Dheri in Mardan district and inspected the completed watercourses.

The monitoring officer held meetings with the water users associations, district field teams and water management authorities. The deputy director of water management in Mardan said that 40 watercourses had been completed across the district during the last fiscal year while another 60 watercourses would be completed in the current fiscal year. —APP