KOHAT: The Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) has sanctioned gas facility from the newly-discovered reservoirs in Ghurazai area to eight nearby villages.

During an open kutcheri here, the police and representatives of oil and gas companies urged the elders to end protests because the discovery was fresh and required establishment of plant in Ghurazai for provision of gas to the houses. The event was organised by the police.

SNGPL coordinator Kamran Yousafzai said that the new resources at Ghurazai would be gradually expanded to the whole area. He urged the people to stop armed sit-ins at the sites. He claimed that health services had been approved for the people of the area.

Malik Tahir Shah of Ghurazai and councillor Tahir Nabi of Gumbat said on this occasion that they had the first right over the resources. They also demanded provision of jobs to the local youth by the companies working in the area.

District police officer, who was the chief guest at the gathering, said that he would ensure that no injustice was done to the local people. He said that the farmers whose land had been affected by the gas project would be paid rent.

WOMEN’S UNIVERSITY: Former state minister Abbass Afridi has termed the approval of women’s university in Kohat by the provincial government a drama to create hurdles to the similar project announced by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif last year.

Addressing a press conference here on Saturday, he said that Chief Minister Pervez Khattak had cancelled his scheduled visit to Kohat on Sunday (today) to make announcement of the university because the project was fake and no funds had been allocated for it.

He termed the university’s approval by the CM as propaganda and drama by his party’s MPAs and MNA. He regretted that the provincial government was creating hurdles to the construction of 250-bed hospital by the federal government.

He showed documents of approval of funds for the said university and hospital by the finance department, Islamabad, and challenged the PTI MPs to show similar documents to the people.

Published in Dawn, October 22nd, 2017