KARACHI, July 22: Adviser to the Chief Minister on Special Projects Mumtaz Hameed has directed city government's concerned officials and contractor to ensure completion of the Mubarak Dam within 15 days.

He issued these directives during his visit to the dam's site in Mubarak Village, along the common border of Sindh and Balochistan.

District Officer Younus Arain, briefing the adviser about the project, said that 85 per cent work on the dam had been completed. He said that standards and quality in the construction work, costing Rs4.4 million, had been ensured.

Local residents, however, maintained that the DO's claim was misleading. They told the adviser that the dam had completely been washed away by rains during last year's monsoon. Work on the project had never been resumed since then, they added.

They pointed out that the city nazim and DCO had visited the village last year and announced an allocation of Rs2 million, construction of roads and electrification of the village, but nothing had been done in this regard.

They expressed their apprehension that the monsoon rains this year might cause a heavy damage to the village if the construction work on dam could not be completed at the earliest.-PPI