Altaf Hamid Rao
MIRPUR ( AJK),(Parliament Times):Azad Jammu Kashmir Prime Minister Raja Faisal Mumtaz Rathore has said that his recent visit to Mirpur was not a party visit but was made to meet the local long cherished demands for inauguration of various mass public welfare projects in civic and health sectors.
“These development projects include required increase in the budget of the cardiac center of Mirpur DHQ Hospital from Rs 6 million to Rs 60 million coupled with immediate measures to make the catheter lab of Kashmir Cardiology functional, provide Rs 20 million for the hospital emergency, convert the Kashmir Cardiology Center into a separate heart hospital, besides to inaugurate Rs. 235.00 million remote Kharak village Water Supply Scheme consisting of four tube wells”, he added.
Our Special Jammu Kashmir state Correspondent Altaf Hamid Rao reports from Mirpur that the Prime minister expressed these views while talking to a KPC President Syed Abid Hussain Shah-led delegation of journalists here before leaving for Islamabad late Monday.
The Prime Minister said that several complaints are being received regarding the electoral rolls, for which an inquiry committee was being formed. He assured that the concerns of the public representatives will be addressed. Kashmir Institute of Cardiology will soon be elevated to the status of a full-fledged hospital.
He added that despite the short-term government, work was underway on major projects and success in the upcoming general elections 2026 in AJK will be achieved on the basis of these performances.
Raja Faisal Mumtaz Rathore said that there was an intention to start a “Clean Kashmir” program in Azad Jammu Kashmir on the model of Punjab. However, due to lack of time, its implementation could not be started, he added.
He said that the solid waste management project has been approved for Muzaffarabad, while the government wanted it to be started in all three divisional headquarters, but due to limited time, it has been limited to Muzaffarabad only.
In response to a question, the Prime Minister said that the government has provided Rs 10 billion to turn State run Bank of Azad Jammu Kashmir into a scheduled bank and the paperwork in this regard was being completed.
” It is expected that the bank will get the status of a scheduled bank within the next three months. He added that loans will be provided to the youth of Azad Jammu Kashmir on easy terms to enable them to start their businesses. The Prime Minister also assured to take immediate steps to resolve the problems of clean drinking water and traffic hazzards in Mirpur city.