LOWER DIR: The work on the long-delayed Rs660 million Kalpani Talash Bypass project, launched a decade ago, has once again come to a halt, causing frustration among local residents and transporters.

The residents told journalists in Talash on Wednesday that the contractor had abandoned the construction work without giving any reason, even though funds were available with the communication and works (C&W) department.

They expressed concern that bureaucratic delays in processing the revised budget and related matters could push the project into cold storage once again.

According to official sources, landowners have already been paid Rs330 million as compensation. However, the escalating cost of construction materials has pushed the overall project cost from the original Rs660 million to over Rs1 billion.

Of the 10km bypass, only six kilometers have been blacktopped so far, with the remainder left incomplete. The residents said completion of the project would ease traffic congestion on the National Highway Authority Road, reduce accidents, and benefit more than seven million people of Bajaur, Chitral, Lower and Upper Dir.

Political and social leaders termed the delay ‘anti-people’ and urged Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, the Lower Dir deputy commissioner and the senior C&W officials to intervene immediately to ensure early resumption of work.

JUI-F CONDEMNS CHIEF MINISTER: The deputy general secretary of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Maulana Muhammad Rahim Haqqani, on Wednesday criticised Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur for his recent remarks against party chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, saying the chief minister should ‘speak in a manner befitting his stature’.

Talking to local journalists in Talash, he accused the provincial government of attempting to divert public attention from its ‘poor performance’ by issuing statements against the JUI-F leadership.

He said that people in Malakand division were facing severe hardships due to heavy rains and floods, while the government institutions had ‘failed to provide meaningful relief to the victims’.

The JUI-F leader claimed that an “unannounced operation” was under way in the province, adding that the government had ‘practically collapsed’.

He also criticised the rising cost of living, pointing out that a 20-kilogram bag of flour now cost Rs2,200 and that bread prices had surged correspondingly.

“Instead of addressing inflation, governance and public issues, the chief minister is resorting to derogatory language against our leadership — something the JUI-F workers will not tolerate,” he warned.

Published in Dawn, September 4th, 2025