A fresh start: Chief minister inaugurates Rescue 1122 headquarters

Officials highlight achievements of emergency service, CM reveals expansion plans.

PESHAWAR: Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Chief Minister (CM) Pervez Khattak on Friday inaugurated the provincial headquarters of Rescue 1122 emergency service.

The newly constructed headquarters is situated on the busy Sher Shah Suri Road in Cantonment area.

Spokesperson of the emergency service told The Express Tribune the building was completed by the Communication and Works (C&W) department at a cost of Rs150 million, which was taken from the funds of Rescue 1122 allotted to it by the provincial government.

The project was approved by the Awami National Party (ANP) government in 2011. Over the course of its construction and until the inauguration, the building was the cause of a dispute between the rescue service and city administration over its occupation. However, the matter was later resolved on the directives of the chief minister.



“The emergency service has become one of the exemplary service providers of the province,” said the CM, while inaugurating the building along with provincial minister Shahram Khan Tarakai, Adviser to CM Yaseen Khalil, Education Minister Atif Khan and Secretary Relief and Rehabilitation Muhammad Aurangzeb Khan.

He added the service will be expanded to other areas of the province like DI Khan, Swat and Abbottabad. Currently, Rescue 1122 is active in Peshawar and Mardan.

Khattak further said the provincial government would strive to bring the salaries of Rescue 1122 staffers in line with workers of Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), adding meetings are being held with Rescue 1122 to discuss the prospect. He also recognised the need for a separate training academy for the department.

According to Recue 1122 Director General Asad Ali Khan, in 2013 the service handled around 17,000 different incidents in Peshawar, including 260 bomb blasts, 4,000 traffic incidents, 11,000 medical cases. Similarly, in Mardan, Rescue 1122 took part in around 12,000 different incidents of terrorism and traffic.

Speaking at the event, Khalil informed there were earlier seven ambulances with Rescue 1122, Peshawar, which have now been increased to 14 while the toll-free helplines have also been increased from three to five over the years. “The government will approve Rs38 million in funds for further expansion and growth of the service,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 29^th, 2014.