Rs 564 Mln uplift schemes set off for Pakistan's tribal belt
Pakistan Times National News Desk

MIRANSHAH: Eighty-two development schemes are going on in North Waziristan Agency (NWA) with allocation of Rs 564 million to bring the neglected tribal agency at par with developed parts of the country.

North Waziristan agency, adjoining the troubled South Waziristan, has been rated as one of the most backward parts of the country.

The agency, having a population of 361246 and spread over an area of 4707 square kilometres, had been ignored in development schemes during the past six decades that is why it is lacking most of the basic facilities. People are short of potable water, health and educational facilities and jobs.

Whatever the reasons were, a number of developmental projects, many of them with foreign donations, had been launched in the agency during the past three to four years. Some of these projects have been completed while the rest are going to be ended by June next year in the agency, close to the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

Under the new ADP, 18 projects are going on in the sector of education costing Rs 102. 285 million. 12 schemes were in progress in health sector, 10 in communication, 7 in irrigation, 6 each in livestock and PHED, 5 each in forest and agriculture while 4 projects were underway in sector of industries and technical education. Rs 149 million have been allocated only for the improvement of irrigation system.

The North Waziristan, having a female population of 168814, has no girls college. The area is also lacking primary and middle schools for girls. However, the agency would get its first degree college for women within few months. "A female degree college has been approved for Miranshah and construction work would start soon.

However, local girls have started attending degree classes at the local higher secondary school," the political agent (PA) North Waziristan, Dr Fakhr-e-Alam, informed a nine-member media team from Peshawar. He admitted there was a big difference between the literacy rate among females and males of the area.

The situation is, however, better as compared to the recent past as the agency now has two male degree colleges as well as an institute of management sciences and information technology. A project of launching 100 non-formal schools and formalization of the already existing institutions was also going on.

In communication sector construction of a number of bridges on main roads are underway. Besides, Mir Ali bypass road would be constructed to divert traffic from the bazaar. Construction of sub jail, separate hostels for male and female employees, up gradation of Razmak and Ditta Khel hospitals and several projects under special Shawwal and Madakhel packages are also in progress.

Two small dams were under construction while work on third such dam is likely to commence soon in sectors of irrigation and agriculture. One such project is Mir Kalam Small Dam in Mir Ali sub division that would irrigate 375 hectares of land and would benefit some 300 to 600 local families.

"Tendering cost of the project is Rs 59.62 million but the revised cost would be more than the figure. The then NWFP Governor, Iftikhar Hussain Shah, had performed its ground breaking on June 29, 2004 and it would be completed by February 28 next year," site engineer of the project, Ihsanullah informed.

Work on another small dam is going on in Mercikhel with total cost of Rs 78.5 million. "The project would irrigate 350 hectors of land. Third such dam has been proposed in Danday that will cost Rs 300 million and would irrigate 2000 hectares of land," assistant director agriculture department, Shamsur Rahman Khattak stated. 30 more sites for dams have been proposed in the area to bring improvement in agricultural sector. Besides, hundreds of hectors wasteland has been reclaimed under a special project to improve agriculture in the agency.

North Waziristan is one of the remote areas where locals even could not watch the transmissions of Pakistan Television for not receiving its signals. The only entertainment for the tribesmen is six-hour transmission of local AM-radio station that has been established few months back. The building cost Rs 1.13 million while its 1 Kilowatt transmitter had been donated by the United States.

"We broadcast programs while keeping in view the interest of local listeners from 6 am to 9 am and from 6 pm to 9 pm. Response of the general public is tremendous as it they had no such entertainment before," Faridullah Khan, producer of the Miranshah radio station remarked.

The democratic process has taken momentum in the agency by involving the locals in government affairs. "The agency has 62 agency councillors. 40 members have been elected through elections while the rest were special members, technocrats, ulemas and women," assistant director local government, Akhtar Munir, said. The female participation in the local affairs could be guessed from the fact that no one had applied for the three women seats of agency councillors.●