MANSEHRA, Aug 31: The exercise to make appointments to Kohistan police resumed on Friday after a two-day break. It was later completed by the selection committee.

The appointment exercise began again after people protesting against the transfer of the DPO cleared Karakoram Highway by removing stones and rocks.

“115 candidates have been declared successful. They’ll undergo training before being assigned tasks,” district coordination officer, Kohistan Aqal Badshah told reporters here.

He said outgoing DPO Abdul Majeed Afridi was part of the selection committee.

Meanwhile, the Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (Erra) has rebuilt 64 per cent of the infrastructure damaged by the October 8, 2005 devastating earthquake in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and is striving for early completion of the remaining projects, Erra deputy chairman Maj-Gen Mohammad Asif Azeem told reporters after examining work on the King Abdullah Teaching Hospital (Kath) on Friday.

The hospital being reconstructed with the financial assistance of Saudi government was destroyed by the 2005 earthquake.

District coordination officer of Mansehra Dr Amber Ali Khan and Kath medical superintendent Dr Niaz Mohammad were also present on the occasion.

Mr Azeem said in the devastating earthquake seven years ago, 7,000 projects and schemes of health, educational, roads and other infrastructure were damaged in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and so far 4,500 had been rebuilt.

“Prime Minster Raja Pervez Ashraf is taking keen interest in reconstruction and rehabilitation of damaged schemes and ordered the authorities concerned for early release of funds as projects are being completed,” he said.

Mr Azeem said the earthquake damaged 2,700 projects in Mansehra district alone, while work on 1,900 was completed as yet.

He said hurdles in the way to new Balakot city project were being removed with the help of district administration as almost all the grievances of landowners were addressed.

Earlier, medical superintendent Kath Dr Niaz Mohammad said owing to delay in completion of the hospital the people of Mansehra, Battagram, Kohistan and Torghar districts were suffering badly.

“We have been running a 171-bedded hospital in a nursing hostel and providing health services to 0.4 million people annually for the last seven years,” he said.

Dr Niaz also stressed the need for the expedition of reconstruction of the hospital so that people of these districts could be provided with more health services.

The deputy chairman inaugurated the rural health centre in Shinkiary constructed at the estimated cost of Rs57.74 million and also visited and inspected work on Government Higher Secondary School and Civil Hospital, Baffa.

He also visited the Hazara University and inspected work on a grand mosque being built there by Saudi Arabia.