HARIPUR, March 13: The NWFP health department is planning to establish five hospitals at a cost of Rs243 million to provide health care facilities to people in remote parts of Haripur district.

The building designs and cost estimates have been forwarded for approval to the authorities at the provincial headquarters, official sources told Dawn.

Work on these hospitals — one of category C and four of category D – is expected to start during the next fiscal year. The construction of a 40-bed hospital in Khanpur already under way.

It has been learnt that these health facilities are to be set up in the vicinity of existing Basic Health Units (BHUs).

According to the PC-I prepared by the office of executive district officer, works and services, Haripur, each of the four category D hospitals are to be constructed in village Dingi, Sera-i-Nehmat Khan, Barkot and Khanpur. They would have 40-bed capacity and each would cost Rs42.63 million.

The 110-bed category C hospital is to be built in the Khalabat Township and would cost Rs73.05 million.

The hospitals would have surgical, medical and children specialists and medical officers to cater to the health care needs of the people, the sources said, adding that the budget for them would also be enhanced.

In spite of being one of the big revenue generating districts of the NWFP with a population of 800,000, most parts of Haripur lack basic health care facilities.

Although BHU buildings existed in some areas, they lacked medical facilities and ran short of doctors and medicines.

uplift projects: District Nazim Dr Raja Amer Zaman said on Sunday that work on development projects worth Rs1 billion was under way in Haripur and efforts were afoot to provide basic facilities to people in neglected areas.

He told newsmen at his office that the district government had utilized its resources for ensuring infrastructure facilities in the area. He said Haripur was ignored by the rulers in the past despite being one of the top revenue-generating districts in the country.

He said an international donor agency had in its report on development placed Haripur at number three in the country.

He said the district government had spent Rs1.5 billion on development schemes and provided facilities of road, electricity, gas, health care and water supply during the last four years.

He said the district government was taking steps for bringing the remote areas at par with the developed ones.

He said the NWFP government had approved over a dozen girls’ schools for provincial assembly’s constituencies PF-49 and PF-52. He said carpeting of roads in various remote areas was under way.