SWABI, Dec 5: NWFP Governor Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah has said the Gadoon industrial estate can be put on track of progress with the cooperation of industrialists and workers if only we could produce cheap electricity as we already have the requisite infrastructure.

He said this while speaking at a function after inaugurating the gas supply project to the industrial estate here on Wednesday.

The governor said provision of tax holiday and other incentives to Gadoon was not a wise decision because these were exploited by some industrialists to their own advantage and the previous governments were forced to withdraw them as they created a number of problems.

He called on the industrialists and workers to create a peaceful environment and avoid from clashing with each other. “The workers are the backbone of the industry and the industrialists must stop victimizing them. If they are victimized then there will be no peaceful environment and the dream of progress and prosperity would go unfulfilled,” he added.

The governor said if peace prevailed in the Gadoon estate, more industrialists would come forward for investment but if the relations between the industrialists and workers remained strained then those who had already invested money here would devise plans to move out to some other attractive industrial zone. There was no need of strike or pointing of an accusing finger at each other.

The Gadoon industrialists can utilize the export processing zone which would be established by the NWFP government in Risalpur. It is not far away from Gadoon estate, he said, adding that the government will provide fire brigade facilities, one each to Gadoon estate and the district government.

The provision of Sui Gas to Gadoon will boost the morale of the estate’s industrialists and now this facility will be extended to other areas as Sui Gas pipelines had already been laid across the district Swabi, he said.

He vowed to provide funds for the completion of the 200-bed hospital complex at Shahmansoor, Swabi, where the construction activities had resumed after a span of five years.

About the tobacco growers’ problems and their alleged exploitation by the purchasing companies, he said all-out efforts were under way to make tobacco an exportable commodity and that he personally discussed this issue with the federal government. “If we entered into a contract with other countries then there will be no surplus tobacco,” he said, and went on to urge the growers to cultivate this crop according to the requirements of the buyers.

He said the purchasing companies should give up the exploitation of poor peasants. He promised that he will direct the Pakistan Tobacco Board (PTB) to take steps to protect the growers.

He announced Rs10 million for the construction of Yarhussain bridge and Rs1 million for the establishment of a public library in the district headquarters. He said the construction of Karnal Sher Cadet College will be started soon.

About the Swabi Topi Bypass road, he said the provincial government will study this project. He said the NWFP government had also decided to establish a worker welfare school in Swabi.

The governor said when the construction of Peshawar-Islamabad motorway resumed, all the outstanding amounts of the contractors and workers will be paid along with the property owners who had not got their money so far.