Work on hydropower projects in Swat to begin next month: chief minister

Chief Minister, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Ameeer Haider Khan Hoti has said that the provincial government is going to start work on two hydropower generation projects in Swat next month while foundation stone of two more such schemes with one each in Swat and Chitral will be laid till June this year.
Addressing a public meeting held in connection with launching work on Lund Khwar-Machai Branch Road in Lund Khawar, district Mardan, he said that the completion of the new hydropower projects will produce 2000 mega watt more electricity, which will not only arrest load shedding, but will also generate billions of rupees resources for the province. The road is named after old Khudai Khidmatgar Movement worker Zarin Khan that will cost Rs 100 million and will complete in a period of one year.
District President, ANP Farooq Akram Khan presided the meeting while those present were included Engineer Abbas Khan, Ayub Yusufzai, Israr Hussein, Sabz Ali Khan, Nisar-ul-Haq, Haq Nawaz Khattak, Rehmat Bacha, Syed Gohar Shah Bacha, Javed, Gul Hameed Khan, Jehanzeb Khan and Haji Subhan Khan.
The CM said that since coming to power, the provincial government beside restoration of peace has initiated development process in all corners of the province. He said that bringing backward rural areas at par with developed areas is the top priority of the government and had initiated revolutionary measures in this regard. He said that the present government had brought record 80 percent increase in the annual development programme (ADP) and the programme of current financial year is historically huge.
He said before the establishment of ANP government, the income of the province from oil and gas was merely Rs 350 million to Rs 400 million, which now reached to Rs 16 billion. He said that the provincial government is utilising surplus resources on enabling the poor unemployed people in getting honourable employment and launched Rs 2 billion Bacha Khan Khpal Rozgar Scheme and Rs 1.3 billion Hunarmond Scheme for skilled youth.
He said private sector schools will be utilised for provision of free education in all those union councils that lacking public sector boys and girls schools and the provincial government will bear the fees of the children. The CM said that Mardan is second largest district of KP, but in past it was deprived of its due right, saying the present provincial government in proportion to population had given it is due right. However, he said that it was not given on the cost of any other district.