PM cancels Lowari Tunnel visit at last moment

CHITRAL, Nov 15: Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf on Thursday cancelled his visit to the Lowari Tunnel in Dir site at the eleventh hour, sending a wave of anger among the PPP workers from Chitral and Dir who had reached there to receive him. [caption id="attachment_5665" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Angry PPP workers leave the venue after the PM's visit cancellation."][/caption] The enraged workers of the party divided into two groups and chanted slogans against each other. The leaders of the party seemed helpless to control the angry and unruly workers. The prime minister was scheduled to inaugurate work on the second phase of the tunnel project which his government has failed to complete for the last over four years. Officials at the site told chitraltoday.net that the visit of the prime minister was postponed due to security concerns. Speaking on the occasion, former federal minister from Dir, Najmuddin Khan, tried to pacify the PPP workers by saying if the prime minister did not visit Chitral and Dir soon after Muharram he would resign from the basic membership of the party. Later, minister for communication Arbab Alamgir Khan opened the construction work at the site, where the Korean Sambu company has returned and started work. The communication minister said 50 per cent work on the mega project had already been completed and the Executive Committee of the National Council (ECNEC) had approved the 18,132 million revised project concept after its conversion from rail to road tunnel. So far about Rs6.4 billion have been spent on the project while the government has set aside two billion rupees in the fiscal year 2012-13, he added. He said the Sambu company had now started widening the tunnel as per the new design. Giving the reasons for the delay in completion of the project, the minister said that because of the military operation in Swat and nearby areas in 2009, work could not be continued for almost eight months. Besides, the 2006, 2007 and 2010 floods interrupted supply of material to the site. He said the area was far off and the construction company was facing hardship in ensuring supply of labour and equipment. He said the PPP government should be given credit for continuing  efforts to bring the vital project to near completion. The minister said that the prime minister would visit Chitral after Muharram.]]>