KOHAT: Federal Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar has assured a delegation from Kohat, led by MPA Ziaullah Bangash, that the issue of low gas pressure in Kohat will be resolved on priority.

The chairman of the standing committee on oil and gas, Senator Mohsin Aziz, has also included the problem of low pressure and shortage of gas in Kohat in the agenda of coming Senate standing committee meeting to be held on Jan 6.

Ehsan Ayaz, PRO to the MPA, told this correspondent on Thursday that Mr Bangash along with PTI chairman from Gumbat, Sajid Iqbal, district president Malik Atif and office-bearers Mansoor Khan and Mamoon Shah called on the Federal Minister for Science and Technology Senator Shibli Faraz and Mohsin Aziz at the former’s office.

The MPA brought into their notice the project of laying pipelines in his PK-82 constituency especially from his hometown of Mohammad zai to Ustarzai, which had been approved years ago, but awaited release of the federal government’s share of funds for starting work on it.

The total cost of the project was Rs1.62 billion. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government had already paid its share to the SNGPL.

Senator Shibli Faraz phoned Hammad Azhar on the occasion and asked him to resolve the matter on a priority basis.

Meanwhile, the leaders of Awami National Party and Pakistan Peoples Party said that MPA Ziaullah Bangash had been forced to rush to Islamabad after eight years following the party’s defeat in the local body polls.

APPROVED: The District Development Advisory Committee and Area Development Project on Thursday gave approval to Rs2.30 billion schemes for the three constituencies to be distributed among all the village councils.

Of this fund, Rs900 million were allocated to PK-82, and Rs700 million each to PK-80 and PK-81. The money would be utilised on construction of roads and bringing improvements in education, water supply, irrigation, health sectors.

The DDAC meeting was presided over by its chairman, MPA Ziaullah Bangash.

Published in Dawn, December 31st, 2021