KOHAT, Jan 3: The Qaumi Tehrik Kohat on Thursday regretted that no mega project was launched in the district during last 10 years and the huge royalty from oil and gas production had been spent on petty projects and that too without ensuring transparency.

Speaking at the tehrik’s annual meeting here, its president Ameer Khan Afridi said that parliamentarians from Kohat district had not used the royalty and other funds for development of the area, but wasted the money on petty things like construction of drains and streets and provision of power transformers.

Another elder Faizan Banoori called for transparency in use of royalty funds.

He pointed out the every lawmaker had installed inauguration plaques on the same projects of streets and roads.

He said that the women and children hospital, which was built in 1952, now needed a new building, but parliamentarians from the area were opting for union council level projects.

He said that billions of rupees royalty had been spent while no big project was launched in last 10 years.

Mr Banoori said that after the allotment of land for an oil refinery in Karak, Governor Masood Kausar had announced establishment of another one near Khushalgarh in Kohat. He said that two refineries should be constructed in the region, which would create 10,000 jobs in Kohat only.

Other speakers said that the region rich with oil and gas was still without potable water and joblessness was on steep rise.

The function held at the town hall was attended by ex-MNA Javed Ibraheem Paracha, former district nazim Gohar Saifullah and Mahmoodul Islam advocate besides other prominent figures from Kohat and Karak districts.

They expressed concern over 18-hour routine loadshedding in rural and urban areas of Kohat and the delay in construction of bridge near vegetable market.