Peshawar, September 04 (Online): Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mahmood Khan on the second day of his two-daylong visit to Swat, on Friday had a detailed visit to the areas affected by the recent heavy rainfall and floods and also inspected the damages and rehabilitation activities there.
He visited all the affected areas of Swat including Madain, Cheehal, Shagram, Bahrain, Tirat and Sukhra and issued directions for the rehabilitations and mitigation of the affected people . The Chief Minister also condoled with the families of victims by the floods and sympathized with them.
On his arrival, the Chief Minister Mahmood Khan was also given a detailed presentation on the damages caused by floods and the subsequent rehabilitation activities in Madain areas of district Swat. Mahmood Khan was kept abreast of the rehabilitation and relief work in the affected areas.
Provincial Minister for Agriculture Mohibullah Khan, Special Assistant to the Chief Minister for Information and Local Government Kamran Bangash, MNA Saleem-ur-Rehman, MPA and Focal Person to the Chief Minister Mian Sharafat Ali, Commissioner Malakand Division Syed Zaheer-ul-Islam, DIG Ejaz Khan, Deputy Commissioner Swat and officers of all concerned departments were also present on the occasion.
The Chief Minister directed to constitute a committee to remove encroachments on the Swat River and other places including waterways. The concerned departments were spurned into action to remove encroachments immediately. The Chief Minister said that the Bahrain Bridge should be rebuilt with modern design.
Later talking to the media, The Chief minister assured that the provincial government would go all out for the rehabilitation of the affected areas. He directed for detailed and complete assessment of the flood damages in Swat by today.
He said the provincial Government had initiated record relief and rehabilitation activities to restore and rehabilitate the damaged roads, water supply schemes and other facilities in the affected areas.
He said that he has roots in the people and would not play to the gallery. Coming hard on the previous rulers of the country, Mahmood Khan said he did not believe in making dramas like those who used to wear long boots and paraded in the water as a publicity stunt. His government and he himself was among the people and would serve them to the extent of their all benefit.
He is a soldier of the Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan and will prove it time and again. The government shares the miseries and hardships of the people and would not leave them alone in their hard times.
Mahmood Khan said that he was personally visiting the affected areas to assess the damages caused by the floods and would visit Chitral the next day and later Shangla Kohistan and other areas. He appreciated the administration and concerned agencies for their excellent work adding that the concerned agencies have shown excellent performance in the relief and rehabilitation activities adding that relief would be given equally to the affected areas in the province.
The recent floods have caused less damages in our province as compared to previous floods because our government had constructed embankments along the rivers and further development work will be carried out with the same vision.
He said that deforestation is the major cause of floods and in this regard we have started the Billion Tree Tsunami in our previous government for future planning and now the Central Government has started the ten Billion Tree Plantation drive throughout the country that will save the existing forests and will further bring more areas under forest at large scale.
The propagandists against his government find no wrong but casting aspersions and making opposition against PTI and it is not more than a day dreaming, he added.
The Chief Minister was optimistic that PTI would again be in power even for the next 5 years on the basis of its performance.
He said that his government has redirected the direction of the economy for rapid economic growth. Swat motorway has been completed and we have a long list of achievements with in the short span of two years. Peshawar DI Khan Expressway would also be constructed for the southern districts, he assured.
He said that the project of gas expansion line would be laid in Swat while Swat Motorway Phase 2 would also be constructed. He said that Kalam Road has been completed and Dental College, Agricultural and Engineering University have been established, several colleges and schools have been established and upgraded that will bring an educational revolution in the area.
He said that Dir Motorway will also be built while several projects have been started for the development of Peshawar city. He said that construction work of Saidu Airport runway is underway and its expansion will be done after its rehabilitation.
The Chief Minister said that the government was paying special attention to the promotion of tourism in the province and new tourist zones were being set up in the province to attract tourists at mass scale and make tourism as an industry for which Government rest houses would be controlled by private sector for the benefit of tourists in order to provide solid foundation for the tourism economy in the province.
