MANSEHRA: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz has announced that it will raise the Hazara University expansion issue in the provincial assembly as the vice-chancellor should establish more campuses in other parts of the district.

“The residents don’t want to spare their agricultural land for widening the university, so my party stands with them and will take up this issue in the provincial assembly,” PML-N parliamentary leader in the provincial assembly Sardar Mohammad Yusuf told reporters here on Wednesday.

Mr Yusuf said the vice-chancellor had written the senior member of the province’s board of revenue to acquire 1,100 kanals of land for the HU expansion that was unjust as agricultural land couldn’t be acquire for such purposes.

“I think that instead of expanding the university campus in Dodial, the VC should establish its women-only campus in Jaba area, where a vast government land is available,” he said.

Leader says residents don’t want to spare agricultural land for initiative

A group of Dodial residents led by former provincial minister Shahzada Gustasib Khan met deputy commissioner Aurangzeb Haider Khan and informed him about the situation following the imposition of Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act.

“The government has already acquired agriculture land of Dodial for Hazara motorway and now it would be highly injustice with landowners of Dodial if 1100 kanals of land is acquired for widening of HU,” he said.

The deputy commissioner assured landowners that he would visit the land being acquired for the university and inform the relevant department about the ground situation.

INQUIRY ORDERED: Torghar deputy commissioner Javed Ali Orakzai has ordered an inquiry into the substandard construction of the Tehsil Municipal Administration building in Judbah, the district headquarters.

The development comes as the DC visited the building, which was put up under the Rs4 billion special package approved in 2011 by the then chief minister, Ameer Haider Khan Hoti, after Torghar was given the status of a settled district.

“I want a comprehensive report on construction faults in the new building and those responsible for substandard construction for action,” Mr Orakzai told assistant commissioner of Judbah Dr Abdul Wajid.

KISSAN BAZAAR: The Torghar district administration in collaboration with the agriculture department has set up Kissan bazaars in Judbah and Kunder Hassanzai tehsils.

Assistant commissioner of Judbah tehsil Abdul Wajid inaugurated the bazaar and announced the sale of essential commodities there at the prices lower than market’s.

He said the initiative would help counter hoarders creating artificial shortage of commodities.

Published in Dawn, November 14th, 2019