MANSEHRA: Acting chairman of the Water and Power Development Authority Naveed Asghar Chaudhry on Tuesday said that the 4,300MW Dasu hydropower project was expected to begin electricity generation.

`Work on the Dasu hydropower project is in full swing, so we expect electricity production from it by 2027,` Mr Chaudhry said during a meeting called to review progress on the Dasu Dam in Upper Kohistan district.

He said the Dasu project would help address power shortages in the country and significantly contribute to national development.

The Wapda chairman directed project authorities to ensure the timely launch of development initiatives for local communities in line with commitments made under confidence-building measures.

`We have earmarked Rs17.34 billion to implement social and economic uplift projects for the local population in the district, he said.

Mr Chaudhry urged consultants and contractors to redouble efforts to meet project deadlines while maintaining the highest standards of construction quality.

He later visited several key construction sites, including the main dam, powerhouse, transformer cavern, and the relocated section of the Karakoram Highway. General manager of the Dasu Dam Amir Shafigur Rehman told him that the excavation of the dam`s main foundation was expected to be completed by Oct this year, while work on the underground power-house would be over by next February.

`Power generation will begin in 2027,` he said.

HELD: Police have arrested a private hospital`s owner here over the death of a woman and her newborn baby at his facility in the Gandian area here.

The family of the deceased have blamed deaths on the negligence of hospital employees.

`We have arrested a main accused after the family called the police, SHO of the Lari Adda police station Faisal Khalil told reporters on Tuesday.

The police said the woman was taken to the hospital for a normal delivery but her condition deteriorated due to the alleged medical negligence, leading to her and her newborn baby`s death.

`The hospital didn`t allow the family to see the deceased for several hours, so the latter called the police. We rushed to the hospital and recovered the bodies,` the SHO said.

He said an FIR was registered against the hospital`s owner, administrator, doctors and other relevant staff members under sections 322 and 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code.

`We have arrested the hospital owner but others couldn`t be taken into custody as they obtained interim bail from a local court,` he said.

In the FIR, Naveed Sikandar insisted that after complications arose as the `case was mishandled,` he wanted to take his wife to another facility but the hospital didn`t allow that.

He alleged that the hospital concealed deaths and refused to hand over the bodies. Correspondent