MANSEHRA, Oct 6: The administrator of Kala Dhaka, Mr Latifur Rehman, has said that the government is spending millions on the uplift of the area and no-one would be allowed to grow poppy there or indulge in any other illegal business.

He was speaking at a grand Jirga of the Madakhail tribe in Sulemani Mujahideen area on Wednesday. Tribal elders, Jamroze Khan, Musa Khan, Amanaullah Khan, Gul Karim Khan and Sultan Khan also spoke on the occasion.

Mr Rehman said efforts were being made to settle a land dispute in Chamgah Madakhail area and hoped that it would be amicably resolved in a couple of days. The tribal elders said that the people of Kala Dhaka were not interested in growing poppy or doing any other illegal business.

They said that Kala Dhaka was the most neglected and backward part of the country which needed proper attention of the authorities for addressing its problems. They said that the people of Kala Dhaka needed basic infrastructure - roads, schools, health-care facilities, electricity and telephone. They also needed small irrigation channels for irrigating their small landholdings for agricultural purpose.

They assured the administrator that cultivation of poppy will be discouraged in the area and anyone found involved in this practice will be dealt with sternly. Replying to the elders' demands, the administrator said the government was aware of their problems and concrete steps were being taken to redress their grievances.

He said that under the development package of Rs360 million extended by NWFP Chief Minister Akram Durrani, a number of uplift schemes had been initiated in Kala Dhaka while some petty schemes were being executed with a Rs5 million fund provided by MPA Zar Gul Khan.

He said that a road network for approach to Kala Dhaka via Mansehra and Batgram districts was being laid. Mr Latifur Rehman said that more than Rs20 million was being spent on the electrification of more than a dozen villages in Swabi, Darband and Thakot.

Similarly, a huge amount was being spent on the construction of water channels and water supply schemes, construction of new school buildings and repair and extension of old ones, he added.

He said that an aid package of Rs150 million announced by US ambassador to Pakistan, Nancy Powell, for the uplift of Kala Dhaka would open new vistas of progress and prosperity.

He urged tribal elders to work for the development of better relations with the government so that concerted efforts could be made for the uplift of Kala Dhaka.