PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak on Wednesday said his government would ensure the development and beautification of Peshawar at all costs and would restore the provincial capital city as the city of flowers and gardens.

He said this during a meeting held at the Chief Minister’s Secretariat to examine progress on the Peshawar Uplift and Beautification Programme.

The chief minister said his government had launched many mega projects for development and beautification in the provincial capital, including main corridors of mass transit system, beautification and widening of major roads on the pattern of developed cities, and development of the city’s historical parts.

He also said construction of roads, bridges, parks and picnic spots, improvement of drinking water and drainage system, streamlining of traffic system, plantation, and rehabilitation of cultural heritage in Peshawar at a cost of trillion of rupees would be done under the Peshawar Urban Planning Programme.

Khattak said the widening of major roads with green belts on both sides and the construction of parks, walking tracks, multipurpose sports stadiums and cycling tracks in the city were also part of the programme.

He directed the relevant authorities to make the development plan comprehensive and ensure its quality execution.

The chief minister said he would ensure that all departments achieve targets on Peshawar’s development and beautification. He said enough funds for all mega schemes were available and therefore, the schemes should be executed efficiently.

Khattak said Peshawar was once the city of flowers and gardens and his government was committed to restoring its past glory.

On the occasion, the relevant officials said the Jamrud Road was being widened to four lanes with the merging of the service roads on both sides right from Karkhano to Phase-III of Hayatabad and Rehmanbaba Chowk to Nasirpur.

They said work on the carpeting of the road for rapid bus service from Nasirpur to Karkhano had begun and that it would be completed in one year at a cost of Rs7 billion.

The officials said 81 rapid buses would ply every five minutes on the route and would reach destinations in 45 minutes only, while ambulances and fire tenders would be allowed to use the route.

They said the route would have special provision for bus stops, traffic signals, signboards and pedestrian crossings at every suitable point on all roads of the city.

The officials said greenbelts, footpaths and walkways would also be constructed on the banks of canals to turn them into recreation spots and that they had been designed in collaboration with the irrigation department.

According to them, sanitation vehicles, machines and other equipment will be provided to 25 urban union councils of Peshawar to improve municipal services in the city, while the supply of clean drinking water to the people will be ensured. They said public toilets would be built at various places of the city and that race tracks would be built in Hayatabad for youths.

Published in Dawn, July 24th, 2014