SWABI: National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan would inaugurate work on the much-awaited Utla dam and Pehur High Level Canal extension project here on August 24.

The announcement was made by MPAs Aqibullah and Rangaiz Khan while addressing a public meeting here on Saturday.

They said that the dam would ensure provision of potable water to more than 80 villages of Gadoon Amazai mountainous belt. They said that the residents faced severe shortage of drinking water when the rain-fed streams in Utla region turned dry. They said that there was no alternative water supply system due to the mountainous terrain.

Mr Aqibullah said that though the district administration arranged water tankers, construction of the dam was the only way to resolve the issue on permanent basis.

Mr Rangaiz said that the Pehur High Level Canal extension project was essential to bring uncultivated land under irrigation, which would help the local farmers to grow various crops.

Meanwhile, members of the Youth Parliament installed boxes at prominent places for collecting papers carrying verses of the Holy Quran.

KILLED: A 12-year-old boy, identified as Habibur Rehman, died when he accidently got strangled with the rope while swinging on Saturday, said police.

The incident occurred in Mansafdar village here. The parents took him to a nearby hospital where the doctors pronounced him dead.

Published in Dawn, August 18th, 2019