After floods: A year on, development projects in G-B still in planning phase

Opposition leader rebukes Public Works Department, govt for tardy development work.

GILGIT:

Leader of the opposition in Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) Legislative Assembly, Bashir Ahmed, Tuesday urged Gilgit-Baltistan’s chief minister to seek an explanation from the Public Works Department (PWD) for not completing the various projects initiated after last year’s floods.

“The chief minister should issue notices to the PWD officials for not completing projects even a  year after the floods,” he told reporters in Gilgit. The opposition leader who is a senior member of Pakistan Muslim League (Q) in the region said that the PWD did not call for tenders for the projects.

“Although G-B had been given Rs375 million for development, so far no tenders have been sought,” Ahmed said, adding that the department had not even completed preliminary work.

The Gaise Valley Bridge, for example, was swept away by the floods but the PWD is yet to seek tenders for the project. More than 55 people died in Gaise Valley in the floods last year.

Since then, the people have been forced to rely on a dilapidated “garary” (chairlift) which is not very safe, he added. Ahmed said that the bridge connects the people of the valley to the rest of G-B and should be restored as soon as possible.

The opposition leader said that the PWD is known for its inefficiency. Therefore the chief minister should ensure that the funds make their way to development projects in G-B.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 14^th, 2011.