‘Army has launched innumerous development projects in SWA’

[sonicboom]

‘Army has launched innumerous development projects in SWA’

* FWO project officer says 90pc work of the Gomal Zam Dam has been completed
* Lt Col Hussain says reconstruction of Wana Girls College to be completed by next June

WANA: The Pakistan Army has launched a number of development projects under the leadership of Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Kayani in the militancy-affected South Waziristan Agency for the socio-economic uplift of the people of the Tribal Areas, the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) project officer said on Thursday.

Briefing Peshawar-based journalists who were flown to South Waziristan by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Major Farrukh Majeed said that in addition to completing scores of multi-purposes projects in South Waziristan, the army has launched development schemes in various sectors including education, health, communication and power. Upon completion, these projects would give further impetus to the development process in the rugged mountainous agency, which would bring the region at par with the developed areas of the country, he added.

Construction work on the 108-kilometre-long Tank-Makeen Road and the 101-kilometre-long Tank-Wana Road is underway, and both these projects would be completed at an estimated cost of Rs 2.5 billion, Majeed said. Once completed, the roads would reduce the distance between the southern districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and South Waziristan Agency, he added.

The FWO project officer told reporters that work on a 15-kilometre stretch of the Tank-Wana Road has been completed, which would facilitate a large number of people from South Waziristan, Tank and Dera Ismail Khan districts.

Operational: Likewise, he said that 90 percent of the construction work at the Gomal Zam Dam has been completed and the dam would become operational soon.

Majeed said the Gomal Zam Dam would boost hydropower generation in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and would protect fertile land from flood and soil erosion, besides converting most of the barren land into canal-irrigated area. This, he said, would generate employment opportunities for the youth and bolster the living standards of the poor segment of society.

Tunnels: The journalists were also shown the under-construction Wana Government

Girls Degree College. Lieutenant Colonel Akmal Hussain told reporters that 40 explosive-packed tunnels that were established by terrorists inside the college had been cleared, while the repair and maintenance work was underway. The reconstruction work would be completed by June next year, he said, adding that this project would cost an estimated total of Rs 107 million. The building of the college would be earthquake proof and would be constructed according to international building standards, Hussain added.

Wana General Officer Commanding (GOC) Major General Rizwan Akhtar told reporters that the Pakistan Army, which moved into South Waziristan after the law and order situation had become intolerable during 2001-2007, had wiped out all militants from the area after the successful military operation.

Meanwhile, the local tribal people condemned the US drone attacks, terming them a violation of Pakistan's sovereignty, adding that the attacks were counter-productive. app

http://http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/...-7-2010_pg7_15