MANSEHRA: The district administration has begun acquiring over 8,000 kanals of land for the 300 megawatts Balakot hydropower project.

“Land acquisition is being made for the energy project executed by the Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organisation on the Kunhar River in Kaghan valley,” Dr Qasim Ali Khan told reporters on Tuesday.

The provincial government had given a go-ahead to the project in March. The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council approved $750 million for it.

The deputy commissioner, who is also the district collector, said following the imposition of Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, other formalities were being completed to pay the payments to owners whose land was being acquired in four patwar circles of the Balakot tehsil.

“We have been acquiring land in Bala Schain, Paras, Ghanool and Sangar patwar circles and the district revenue department teams are actively pursuing the task in their respective areas,” he said.

The bidding and contractor hiring for the project has already been completed, while a consortium of companies for it has been finalised.

The Pedo will execute the project on the Kunhar River downstream with the financial support of the Asian Development Bank.

DENGUE DEATH: A boy has died of dengue fever in Dodial area.

Abdullah, 10, was infected with dengue three days ago and died in an Abbottabad health facility on Monday night.

He was laid to rest in Dodial area on Tuesday after the funeral prayer.

A police sub-inspector Abdul Rashid posted in Torghar district died of dengue fever last week in the Dodial area.

Three people, including two women, died of the mosquito-borne disease in Darband area last week.

“The health department has miserably failed to control the virus causing more and more people to be down with it and being shifted to the outpatient departments across the district,” former nazim of Dodial village and neighbourhood council Abrar Hussain said.

He said the health department had yet to begin fumigating such union councils, which were dengue hotspots in the near past.

Published in Dawn, September 22nd, 2021