RAWALPINDI: To deal with tourists in the summer season, the divisional administration asked the district administration, local police, traffic police and other departments to make proper arrangements within a week.

These directives were given as Rawalpindi Commissioner Liaquat Ali Chattha paid a surprise visit to Murree and reviewed arrangements ahead of the tourist season. Mr Chattha also presided over a meeting to review the progress of ongoing development projects in Murree.

The meeting was attended by Additional Deputy Commissioner Revenue Qasim Ijaz, Assistant Commissioner Kamran Hussain, Parks and Horticulture Authority Director General Ahmed Hasan and others.

While briefing the commissioner, Additional Deputy Commissioner Revenue Qasim Ijaz said that the construction of a parking plaza was being started at Jhika Street which will be built on a 10 kanal area. A total of 700 vehicles will be able to park in this triple-storey plaza. He said that a plan has been made to construct a gymkhana club on an area of 10 kanal in Lower Jhika Gali.

Official says work on parking plaza soon,reveals plan to set up a sewage treatment plant

Public Health and Engineering officials briefed that in order to clean the waste that goes from Murree to Rawal Dam, there was a plan to set up a treatment plant. The purpose of this plant is to protect the clean water from contamination.

PHA Director General Ahmed Hasan Ranjha said that a park will be built on an area of 16 kanals for the public in Murree. To improve the traffic situation in Murree, a 7km road from Bansara Gali to Bariyan, a 10.7km road from Bostal Mor to Burori, and a 3.5km road from Gharial Camp to Kari Nakar were under construction by the Punjab Highway Authority.

Speaking on the occasion, the commissioner said the work on the parking plaza should be completed soon for the convenience of the people.

He said that the construction of the gymkhana club will provide facilities not only to the local people but to the tourists of Murree.

The commissioner directed the highway department to speed up the roads’ construction work and stressed that Murree was a “climate-sensitive place and we have to take measures accordingly”.

After the meeting, Commissioner Chattha along with the officials of all the departments visited Punjab House and Rest House Donga Gali and instructed officials to complete the beautification work. He gave a deadline of June 26 to the departments to provide a clean environment to the tourists who come to Murree in the summer.

He said that the latest treatment plant was being installed on eight kanal of land and added that the construction of four bypasses was also going on, which would reduce the traffic congestion in Murree.

Two Kahuta schools upgraded

Meanwhile, the commissioner visited Kahuta. While discussing the new initiatives by the revenue staff, he directed that ‘numberdars’ should be hired and the process of ‘jammabandi’ (record of revenue estates) should be completed as soon as possible.

All the work should be done on merit so that the general public can get benefit from it, Mr Chattha said, adding that the administration’s aim was to “save the public from unnecessary visits” to government offices. He also visited Naar and participated in the tree plantation campaign by planting saplings there.

Furthermore, two schools were upgraded there from high to higher secondary level and the commissioner announced Rs100,000 for both educational institutions.

Among the upgraded schools, Government Boys High School was given the status of Government Boys Higher Secondary School, Naar. Similarly, Government Girls High School was given the status of Government Girls Higher Secondary School, Naar.

He also visited Tehsil Headquarters Hospital in Kahuta and reviewed the medical facilities provided to the public as well as the cleanliness of the hospital. The commissioner, while giving ‘special’ instructions for the cleaning of the washrooms in the hospital, said that exhaust fans should be installed there. He further said that “we can eliminate more than half of the diseases by ensuring the cleanliness” at hospitals.

Published in Dawn, June 13th, 2023