PESHAWAR: Rescue 1122 has established 65 new stations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa taking the total number of stations to 92 and extended its operation in 32 districts of the province.

Rescue 1122 spokesman Bilal Faizi said in an interview that the rescue operations were previously limited to 10 districts in KP, but now it is extended to 32 districts of the province.

Rescue 1122 provided emergency cover to 5,000 patients during the coronavirus pandemic. Mostly, the patients were shifted to hospitals from home in ambulances for treatment purpose during the pandemic. As this was a risky process, about 80 staffers of Rescue 1122 got infected from the virus during shifting of patients to hospitals.

Rescue 1122 also carried out disinfectant spray in government offices, places of public gatherings, mosques, churches etc. During Christmas celebrations on December 25, disinfectant spray was applied in different churches in the province.

In 2020, rescue operations were also started in newly merged districts and services were provided in meeting around 108,000 emergencies– 22,000 of these emergencies were traffic accidents, 74,000 were medical emergencies, 3400 were fire incidents and more than 2,000 were incidents of drowning.

The provincial government has also approved establishment of a special force of Rescue 1122 for meeting emergencies in mineral sector.

KP govt to launch three economic zones

The KP government will launch three more economic zones for rapid industrialisation and creation of job opportunities.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) KP Economic Zones Development and Management Company (KP-EZDMC) Javed Iqbal Khattak said plot allotments in 40 acres Chitral Economic Zone and 89.9 acres Ghazi Economic Zones have been completed and set for formally launch by the end of January 2021, while the installation of industrial units has been started at 189 acres of land in Dera Ismail Khan.

Chitral Economic Zone will generate 8,000 jobs and an investment of Rs621 million is expected in the zone upon colonisation. Ghazi Economic Zone will be suitable for food processing, mineral processing, pharmaceutical and tobacco industries which will generate 17,980 employment opportunities and attraction of an Rs1.848 billion investment.

DI Khan Economic Zone is suitable for food processing, mineral processing, light engineering/manufacturing and consumer products manufacturing units, which will generate nearly 30,000 jobs and bring Rs1.5 billion investment.