China to rebuild school, hospital in Baffa

MANSEHRA, March 31: The Chinese government will reconstruct a government higher secondary school and a civil hospital in Baffa area of the district with a cost of Rs780 million. "We are thankful to China for its generous assistance to the people of Pakistan following the October 8, 2005 earthquake. I assure the Chinese engineers that there will be no hurdle in implementation of reconstruction projects in the area," Sahibzada Anis, the commissioner of Hazara, told a meeting in Baffa on Thursday. The coordinator of Provincial Earthquake Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Authority, Dr Fazal Mehmood, briefed the meeting about the school and hospital, which were destroyed in the October 8, 2005 devastating earthquake and China pledged to reconstruct them. Mr Anis, who also visited the sites of both the projects, said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government would provide foolproof security to Chinese staff and engineers. Later, talking to journalists he said that government wanted to immediately address all outstanding issues of the survivors of the October 8, 2005 earthquake. He said that work on New Balakot City was in progress. He said that the issue of the royalty of Diamer-Basha dam would be settled soon as provincial government had constituted a commission for it. The commissioner said that negotiations were in progress with the elders of all tribes for selection of an appropriate place as district headquarters of the newly created district of Torghar. FEE CONCESSION: The residents of Balakot have called upon the district administration to initiate action against schools for violating court`s verdict regarding fees concession to two or more siblings studying in the same educational institution. A delegation of the people of Balakot, headed by Khursheed Zaman, told journalists here on Wednesday that binding schools to provide concession to two or more siblings studying in the same education institution was a satisfactory step taken by the district administration of Mansehra. They alleged that schools in Balakot were violating order of apex courts regarding fee concession. Schools in Balakot were still receiving full fees from two or more brothers and sisters studying in the same institution but district administration and education department were not taking any action against them, they added. They said that they would be left no other option but to launch protest if education department and district administration failed to take action against school managements for defying court`s order about fee concession.