Murree road encroachment: K-P adviser warns of protest

Says PML-N creating hurdles in road widening project

ABBOTTABAD: A top Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa official on Monday accused the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz of creating hurdles in development work in the province.

The K-P Chief Minister’s Adviser on Information, Mushtaq Ahmed Ghani, warned Wapda to remove electricity poles from the sides of Murree Road within two weeks. He threatened to protest if the deadline was not met.

Speaking to the media on Monday, Ghani said the project to widen Murree Road had been approved in the last fiscal year. However, the plan had been stalled on removing encroachments of Wapda, PTCL and Sui Gas installations from proposed expansion sites.

He revealed the provincial government paid Rs290 million in fees to all the three departments to transfer and dismantling these structures. He complained that Wapda had yet to take any action causing delays in the project.

Ghani claimed that certain politicians from PML-N were throwing a spanner in the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s works by deliberately causing the delays. Such tactics of the ruling party, he said, betrayed their disloyalty to the people.

“They [PML-n] have just relied on lip service and failed to bring mega projects to Abbottabad. Now, they are out to create obstacles in PTI projects,” Ghani lashed out.

The adviser said he was an elected representative from Abbottabad city and would leave no stone unturned to protect rights of the electorate.

Should Wapda fail to remove the encroachments in two weeks, the K-P information advisor threatened to lead a procession and surround the offices of Pesco chief executive in Abbottabad.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 27^th, 2016.