CHITRAL: MNA Shahzada Iftikharuddin has said that following his hectic efforts the federal ministry of water and power has decided to give 30 megawatts of electricity to the local consumers of Chitral from the under-construction Golen Gol Hydropower Project.

Talking to Dawn here on Friday, he said that acceding to his request the ministry had ordered establishment of a 132 kv grid station at Chitral to provide electricity to the local people.

He said that supply of electricity would also make it possible to set up the proposed marble city at Gahirait near Drosh town.

He said that earlier the government had denied giving electricity to the local consumers from Golen Gol project and even floated tenders to transmit the generation (108MW) directly into the national grid at Chakdara.

MNA thanks govt for accepting his request

Expressing his gratitude to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and other government functionaries, Mr Iftikharuddin said that they considered the case on compassionate grounds on his request and ordered to solve the problem of acute energy shortage in Chitral.

He said that now the proposed marble city project would also be launched, offering thousands of job opportunities to the local people.

TWO DROWN: Two sisters drowned in Chitral River at Kalkatak village near Drosh town here on Friday.

A resident of Kalkatak, Qari Jamal, told Dawn that two daughters of Khan Mohammad were collecting woods from the river when the elder one slipped and fell into the river while the second one jumped to save her, but they both drowned. He said that the bodies had not been recovered yet and search was continuing.

The victims were identified as Tahira, 14, and Momtahina, 12, both students of a local school.

HEALTH AWARENESS: An awareness campaign was launched here on Sunday by the health department to highlight the importance of breastfeeding for health of the mother and child. An awareness walk and a seminar were also arranged in this regard.

Members of civil society organisations participated in the walk that started from Zhang Bazaar and ended at the polo ground. It was led by district health officer Dr Israrullah and district coordinator of Health Workers Programme Dr Ibrahim Khan. The seminar was addressed by Dr Israrullah, Dr Ibrahim, Dr Gulzar Ahmed and others.

The speakers said that breast milk was the purest food for a newborn which prevented the baby from many diseases. They said that breast milk also saved children from diabetes, mental disorder, allergy and obesity throughout their lives. They said that sudden infant death syndrome had been recorded at its minimal level where breastfeeding was a common practice.

Published in Dawn, September 06th, 2014