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SWABI, Aug 3: The planned visit of top government functionaries to Swabi on Aug 6 have raised hope here that some of the incentives for Gadoon Amazai Industrial Estate, which had been abruptly withdrawn in the past, would be revived.
NWFP Governor Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah, Chief Minister Muhammad Akram Durrani, Federal Minister for Industry Liaquat Ali Jatoi and Federal Water and Power Minister Aftab Khan Sherpao are due to visit Swabi on Wednesday.
Talking to Dawn here, Gadoon Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s general-secretary Rangeen Shah said the withdrawal of incentives to the GAIE by the first Nawaz Sharif government was a hard blow to the nascent industry in the Frontier.
In reply to a question, Mr Shah said it was expected that they would give Gadoon the status of export processing zone, a 25 per cent cut in duty and 50 per cent rebate in electricity. These have been longstanding demands of the Gadoon entrepreneurs.
The other expected measures, he said, are reduction in the income tax and sales tax, and the provision of a fire brigade vehicle to Gadoon Estate as whenever the finished products or raw material caught fire in any industry here, “we had to request either the Mardan or the Tarbela Dam fire brigade staff to put it out.” But mostly when they arrived, everything was found to have been reduced to ashes.
He said that during their visit, the ministers would inaugurate the newly-established social security hospital of Gadoon where local labourers will get treatment on special concession.
Besides, he said, the inauguration of 400 family quarters for the GAIE workers and the construction of six-kilometre Gadoon Estate road at a cost of Rs25 million would be inaugurated.
The provision of four kanal land for Gadoon Chamber office, inauguration of a technical training centre and installation of a booster for mobile phone services are also likely features of the ministers’ visit.
RAINS: The continuous rain for the last two days played havoc with the lives of the people, with a causeway in Panjpir having been washed by rainwater. The residence of district Nazim Sher Zaman Sher was also inundated.
The rain, accompanied by thunderstorm, lashed the district and its suburbs on Saturday night which continued with intervals. Various low-lying areas came under water and the people faced difficulties as a result.
The flood water had washed away the causeway on Swabi-Maneri Badri and the people of Panjpir were cut off from the lush green fields.
Similarly, a number of villages like Sheikh Dheri, Anbar, Kaya, Aryan and some others of Chota Lahore tehsil were inundated.
TWO KILLED: Two people, including a child, were killed in two separate incidents here on Sunday.
One Sardar Muhammad of Panjpir village was crushed to death by a speeding truck near Jamalabad on Jehangira-Swabi road when he was crossing the road.
The driver made good his escape after the accident.
In the second incident, a child, Sabtain Habib, was electrocuted.
