MANSEHRA: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz parliamentary leader in the provincial assembly Sardar Mohammad Yusuf has said the construction of Mansehra-Muzaffarabad Motorway would bring prosperity and development to both Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

       “The National Highway Authority’s executive board has recommended the preparation of PC-I of Mansehra-Muzaffarabad Motorway. It is a step in the right direction, which will bring an economic revolution in both KP and AJK,” Mr Yusuf told reporters here on Wednesday.

       The PML-N leader said the NHA would build the Mansehra-Muzaffarabad Motorway, whose proposal was approved by the PML-N government in 2013, at the estimated cost of Rs45 billion.

       He said the last PTI-led federal government changed the motorway’s design depriving the Mansehra city of an interchange but the current PML-N-led government would ensure the motorway’s construction according to the 2013 design.

       Yusuf says project to be executed in line with 2013 design

       “If the Mansehra-Muzaffarabad Motorway is linked with Hazara Motorway through Pano Dehri and Gujjar Galli areas, it will cover green alpine forests giving people a pleasant journey,” he said.

       The PML-N leader said the project would also boost tourism in Kaghan valley and other parts of Hazara division along with Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

       ANTI-ENCROACHMENT DRIVE: The tehsil municipal administration and traffic police jointly launched an anti-encroachment campaign in Oghi and its suburbs on Wednesday and removed illegal structures both concrete and temporary.

       The TMA and traffic police also fined rickshaw drivers and motorists for hampering flow of traffic through illegal roadside parking.

       Oghi traffic police chief Nadeem Khan said the crackdown on encroachments would continue during Ramazan to ensure the people’s smooth movement in markets and elimination of the frequent traffic jams on the roads.

       He said shopkeepers had already been warned against placing goods outside their premises to prevent action.

       Mr Nadeem said the traffic police also fined underage motorcyclists and warned their parents of strict legal action in case of another violation of driving restrictions by their juvenile children.

       “Parents should not provide motorbikes to their underage children for their safety as well as that of other road users,” he said.

       Published in Dawn, April 28th, 2022