LOWER DIR: District development advisory committee chairman Ubaidur Rehman has said the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has approved Rs150 million for reconstruction and extension of Munda-Samarbagh Road and Rs30 million for repair of Balambat Bridge.
Talking to reporters in Munda here on Wednesday, the lawmaker said that both the projects had been tendered and work on them would start soon. He said the Balambat Bridge over the Panjkora River connected upper parts with rest of the district.
Mr Rehman said he would continue his efforts to resolve people’s issues. He said former lawmakers had ignored the area in development but the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government would not disappoint the people of Dir.
NURSES’ ROLE LAUDED: Speakers at a function here on Wednesday declared the nurses as backbone of the health system across the globe.
Dir College of Nursing and Allied Health Sciences, Timergara, organised a farewell and welcome party, where 22 nurses were awarded with honourary shields and prizes on completion of nursing courses, and 50 fresh students were enrolled for a four-year nursing course.
District health officer Dr Mohammad Nisar, former provincial minister Muzafar Said, educationist Mohammad Rahim Haqqani, college’s managing director Usman Ali and others spoke on the occasion.
The speakers said that nurses across the globe played a key role in saving the lives during peace and wars.
They asked the government to ensure that nurses got jobs after completion of their courses.
The speakers also appreciated the role of the private sector in promoting medical education in the country and said the government should facilitate such institutions in their endeavours.
IRRIGATION CHANNEL: Political and social activists on Wednesday demanded of the irrigation department to release water in the Balambat irrigation channel without delay.
The demand was made during a multiparty conference arranged by the local chapter of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl.
The speakers included JUI-F district chief Siarjuddin, former tehsil nazim of Jamaat-Islami Imranuddin advocate, Ihsanul Haq Tajik of ANP, Hujaj Khan of PTI, Mashooq Jan of PPP, Gul Badshah of PML-N and others.
They said the irrigation channel had been closed for repair and extension for last three years.
They also complained the much-awaited Koto hydropower project was yet to be made functional despite its completion.
The speakers expressed reservations over co-education at Postgraduate College, Timergara, and demanded that the female students should be shifted to the Government Girls’ Degree College, Balambat.
They also sought commencement of BS classes at the girls’ college.
Published in Dawn, January 30th, 2025