PESHAWAR: In a bid to promote tourism in the country, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has decided to launch a project for the construction of access roads to historic tourist sites in the province.
According to details, a high-level meeting was recently informed that PC-1s for access road to Sheikh Badin (Lakki Marwat), upgradation & rehabilitation of 24km Thandiani Road (Abbottabad) and Mankyal Road (Swat) had been approved by the Provincial Working Development Party (PDWP).
The meeting, held under the chair of KP Chief Minister Mahmood Khan to review progress on various projects of tourism, health and education departments, was informed that work on a number of access roads to tourist sites in different districts of the province was in progress, and that the projects upon completion would increase tourism activities in the country.
It was further informed that cost estimation and designing of other three approach roads — 40km Kalam-Kumrat Road (Swat), 52km Patrak Kumrat Tori Oba Road (Upper Dir) and 16km Thal Jahaz Banda Road (Upper Dir) — had also been completed. Similarly, establishment of rescue stations at five different tourist sites of the province was in progress, whereas 73 camping pods have been setup so far in the different tourist areas of the province.
Briefing the forum on health projects, officials said that the PC-1 for ‘strengthening of all Basic Health Units (BHUs), rehabilitation of all Rural Health Centres ( RHCs) and conversion of 200 BHUs and 50 RHCs into 24/7 healthcare centres’ had been approved by PDWP, adding that project director for the Project Implementation Unit had been appointed, while advertisements for hiring health staff had also been floated.
In addition, seven different hospitals in newly merged districts had been selected for “outsourcing” in order to provide better healthcare facilities to people at local level.
The chief minister, on the occasion, directed the authorities of health department to complete its homework regarding the outsourcing of diagnostic services in all district headquarter hospitals in order to ensure all time availability of those service to people in public sector hospitals.
