HARIPUR: Provincial education minister Akbar Ayub Khan has said that the number of beds in the district headquarters hospital, Haripur, would be increased from the existing 250 to 500 as the provincial government has approved its upgradation to the status of category-A teaching hospital.

He said this while addressing a public meeting in Sikandarpur here on Sunday. He said that for providing better treatment facilities the government had allocated Rs1 billion under the Annual Development Programme during the current fiscal for the DHQ hospital. He said that the government had also approved elevation of its status to category-A teaching hospital.

He said that emergency and tertiary care treatment had always been one of the crucial issues in Haripur and the doctors had to refer the patients to other cities. However, he said that with upgradation of the hospital no patient would be referred to other cities.

He said that the under-construction 100-bed women and children hospital would also provide proper facilities to the residents.

The minister said that water supply schemes worth Rs240 million were also under implementation.

He said that new tubewells and replacement of water supply lines in urban areas would help control water-borne diseases.

He said that a project had also been approved for the blacktopping and widening of 17km Beer-Kalinjar road to provide the people of remote areas proper communication facilities.

The education minister claimed that the local government elections would be held in the province in next few months.

Published in Dawn, January 13th, 2020