MANSEHRA: The Torghar district development advisory committee chairman MPA Laiq Mohammad Khan on Sunday performed groundbreaking of the second phase of the Gawa-Morata Road.

“The main artery, which will link Torghar with the Oghi tehsil of Mansehra district, will be completed with Rs500 million,” he told a function held in Gawa area.

Criticising the lawmakers for failing to launch uplift projects in the district in the past, he insisted that he had executed mega projects in the most neglected district of Khyber Pakhtukhwa.

“Twelve kilometers of the 16-kilometre road has already been completed, and the government had released the remaining Rs90 million for completing the second phase of the road,” he said.

The lawmaker said work on a central bridge to be built on the Indus River in Kotkay area at a cost of Rs7 billion would shortly be inaugurated.

“The government has approved the first-ever boys’ degree college in the district,” Mr Khan said.

LPG PRICE INCREASE CRITICISED: Commercial and domestic consumers have demanded withdrawal of the recent increase in LPG rates.

“The rate of a commercial cylinder has reached Rs7,715 and that of domestic cylinder Rs2,100 following increase of Rs5 per kg,” Mohammad Ismail, a hotelier, told reporters on Sunday.

He said since the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government came to power the prices of both domestic and commercial LPG cylinders had increased by over 50 per cent.

“As the prices of LPG and essential commodities have been increasing frequently we are still compelled to sell goods at the prices fixed earlier this year, because of which, our businesses are running in loss,” said Mr Ismail.

In a separate development, the Kunhar watershed department has sought ulema and religious scholars’ support in its ongoing tree plantation drive in Mansehra district.

“As people widely follow ulema and religious scholars in their routine life, we will get the latter involved in the ongoing drive to ensure plantation of maximum saplings in the district,” Waqar Ahmad, divisional forest officer watershed department, told a function held in Shehlia area on Sunday.

He said the department was planting saplings in mountainous parts of the district where landslides and soil erosion were taking place frequently.

After the ceremony, the participants including ulema, volunteers and officials of the department planted around 300 saplings in the area.

Published in Dawn, August 2nd , 2021