MANSEHRA: Lower Kohistan district administration has expedited the acquisition of land for the Dubair-Ranowali Road, washed away in the 2022 flash floods, to finalise its tendering process in accordance with an agreement reached between the commissioner Hazara and a local jirga led by MNA Muhammad Idrees earlier this month.

A meeting held on Thursday with Deputy Commissioner Lower Kohistan Tariq Mehmood in the chair and attended by representatives of Wapda, Revenue and other relevant departments at Pattan reviewed the acquisition of land for the 26km Dubai-Ranowali Road.

They also reviewed the extension of the grid station of Dubair Khawar Dam to address the power outage issue in the district.

“I want completion of the tendering process within a stipulated period as local people have been extending their support to the Revenue Department for early acquisition of the land,” Mr Mehmood said.

He said that Commissioner Hazara Fayyaz Ali Shah and MNA from Kohistan Muhammad Idrees, who is also the chairman of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Power Division, agreed to the early completion of the tendering process.

“The government has released Rs500 million for the acquisition of land and the entire process should be completed within a stipulated period,” Mr Mehmood said.

The people of Dubair, Ranowalia and adjoining localities in Lower Kohistan, who had been staging a sit-in seeking reconstruction of the Dubair-Ranowalia Road for the last two consecutive months after forcibly suspending electricity production from the Dubair Khawar power unit, had ended their protest after an agreement was reached between the Commissioner Hazara and the jirga earlier this month.

According to the agreement, the tendering process for the construction of the 26-kilometre Dubair-Ranowalia Road would be completed within 45 days, land would be acquired for Bankhad School and FIRs registered against around 60 protesters under the Anti-Terrorism Act would be quashed.

Published in Dawn, March 20th, 2026