KOHAT: The transporters and the commuters have denounced delay in completion of work on the 44-kilometre-long dual Kohat-Hangu carriageway, which was to be completed in 2018.

They complained that work the road was going at a snail’s pace as the contractor had run away several times over nonpayment of dues. The unusual delays have led to increase in its construction cost, they added.

They complained that the highway was damaged due to plying of overloaded long trailers coming from Karachi and Punjab due to absence of weighing machines.

When contacted, Qasim Khan, project director of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Highway Authority, told Dawn that the major impediment in speedy completion of the highway was non-availability of funds.

He said road work in some areas had also been stopped as tribesmen had taken stay orders from courts. He said blasting a mountain to make way for the road through it in Hangu was also taking time.

Mr Qasim Khan said the lawmakers had assured provision of funds for ensuring early completion of work on the road.

He said installation of weighing machines was a must to avoid damage to the road by loaded trucks. He alleged that officials cleared the trucks in Sindh and Punjab by taking bribes. He said it was impossible to remove load from the trucks when they reached Kohat after travelling a distance of hundreds of kilometres.

WELFARE INSTITUTIONS: A private organisation working in the education sector has demanded of the government to declare private schools and colleges as welfare institutions.

In a statement, the Hub of Private Education (Hope) said a petition had been pending with the Peshawar High Court to resolve the problems being faced by the schools and colleges in Kohat.

The organisation, which announced its merger with the Private Education Association Kohat (PEAK) at a meeting on Sunday, announced to take part in the coming elections of Private Schools Regulatory Authority from the platform of Hope.

Published in Dawn, February 1st, 2021