Traders union chief contests MNA’s claim

CHITRAL, July 15: President traders union Chitral Habib Hussain Mughal here on Wednesday criticized MNA Iftikhar Uddin for contesting his claim on the winding up of the streetlight project as a sign of lack of information.

“I have spent 40 years of my life on politics while Iftikhar Uddin just two years ago joined politics,” he said in a statement.
Mr Mughal added that in October 2000 the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) passed 11 development goals for the new millennium 2000 to 2099 named as Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). These development goals included basic necessities of life such as education and healthcare. Installation of streetlights was also a part of the MDGs because it is one of the basic facilities of life.
He said the traders union had long been an applicant for the installation of streetlights in the Chitral bazaar and when the tehsil municipal administration (TMA) received Rs200 million, a tender for the installation of the streetlights was floated on May 28, 2015. He said on June 4, 2015, the contractor was given the work order. But at this point of time, he added, the MNA interfered and got the work on the project stopped.
As a result, Mr Mughal said, the traders union held a press conference and highlighted the fact that the solar streetlight project for the bazaar had no link with the discretionary funds of the MNA.
As far as the credibility of the contractors is concerned, these very contractors had been working on different projects including the construction of roads in Booni, Torkhow, Mastuj when Shahzada Mohiuddin was the MNA. He said if any contractor was violating the rules, the MNA should take legal action against him.
He said that the traders of Chitral and Booni had decided that the MNA would not be allowed to utilize the solar streetlight funds on the election campaign of the APML.—Bashir Hussain Azad