KOHAT, Oct 13: NWFP Chief Minister Akram Durrani has directed the district governments to utilize the funds meant for maintenance and repair of roads only for that purpose instead of using it for constructing new roads.

Speaking at a public meeting organized by MPA Syed Qalb-i-Hassan of the Awami National Party in Ustarzai, the chief minister also announced a grant of Rs100,000 each for lawyers and journalists construction of a stadium in the MPA's constituency, a degree college for girls, a science block in the girls degree college, Rs5 million for the repair of canals, and one million rupees for the Liaquat Memorial Hospital.

The chief minister also announced the appointment of a surgeon and a medical officer at the LMH and a female science teacher at the Ustarzai school, upgradation of the deaf and dumb school from middle to high secondary level and Rs500,000 for Al Qaim Library.

Responding to a request about construction of a dam in Ustarzai, Mr Durrani said that if found feasible the dam plan would be approved immediately. About allotment of land to the people of Jarma, the chief minister stated that a committee had been constituted under the chairmanship of Fakhr-i-Azam advocate to review the issue and the matter would be resolved by next month.

He said the MMA government was making efforts to improve standard of education of the government schools where 95 per cent children of the province were enrolled and which also provided free textbooks up to class 10th to raise the literacy rate.

The chief minister said that his government had decided to distribute free textbooks in all the government high schools for girls and added that books had already been distributed in all the primary schools of the province.

He regretted that no serious efforts had been made to bridge the increasing gap between the poor and the rich in the country and quality education, employment and amenities of life had been considered only the right of the rich people.

Mean while, speaking at a public gathering in Lachi at the residence of MPA Shad Mohammad Khan of the Pakistan People's Party (Sherpao), Mr Durrani said that due to sectarian and other differences Muslims were being subjugated all over the world, whereas taking advantage of the situation the West was exploiting all its resources to defame Islam.

Referring to the recent spate of killings and bomb blasts in mosques and imambargahs, the chief minister said it was the handiwork of a lobby which wanted to create differences among religious parties.

"But we cannot be cheated by these elements and religious scholars belonging to all sects have been asking people to exercise restraint because they know how to confront the situation."

He said the MMA government would never compromise on its rights and vowed to recover the amount outstanding against hydel profit besides share from the federal government for fighting backwardness, poverty, joblessness and carrying out other development work in the province.

He said that he had once told the federal finance minister at a meeting that if the federal government gave Rs40 billion to the NWFP for the construction of dams and canals the province would become self-sufficient in food in two years and there would be no need for wheat from Punjab.

Responding to various demands made by the area nazims regarding supply of gas and construction of roads and colleges, Mr Durrani promised to approve them if found feasible.