MUZAFFARABAD: The possession of a site selected for establishment of a recreational park was formally taken over by the Parks and Horticulture wing of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Agriculture Department with the help of divisional administration on Wednesday.

The handed over piece of land, measuring some 55 kanals and nine marlas, is located near Karoli village in between the main Jhelum Valley Road and the left bank of Jhelum River.

The groundbreaking of the proposed public garden - named as Quaid-i-Azam Memorial Park - was performed in May last year by the then prime minister, Raja Farooq Haider, to “promote tourism and provide refreshment” to the local residents and visitors from across the country.

A ceremony was held on the site of the proposed park to hand over its possession to the Agriculture Department, with secretary agriculture, livestock and irrigation Irshad Ahmed Qureshi and director general agriculture Tariq Mahmood Banday representing their side and commissioner Masoodur Rehman and deputy inspector general of police Tahir Mahmood Qureshi representing the divisional administration.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Qureshi expressed his gratitude to the administration for facilitating the handover of the land, maintaining that the cooperation and coordination among different segments of official machinery would go a long way in meeting targets set by the government for the benefit of society at large.

On their part, the commissioner and DIG assured the department of their full support in this regard.

Published in Dawn, February 24th, 2022