Here is a list of the achievements of the team of mardan.com.
Renovation of Chato Chowk
A team of Mardan.com took the initiative to clean the monument of Chato chowk which had been destroyed by putting advertisement posters. With the help
of Municipal Corporation, three individuals worked for two days. Two water tankers were used to wash the mess. Parts of the
monument (chatai) were painted. The total cost was 800 rupees paid by Mardan.com. In the end it looked like new. People noticed
the change very quickly and a few admired the job.
Sign Boards
The concept of Sign Boards is not very much developed in Mardan. If you are new in Mardan
or if you are a visitor then it is difficult to find a place .You will need to stop and ask for directions. The people are
helpful and will guide you or in some cases will physically walk with you up to the correct address.
Mardan.com realised
this problem and with the help of a local organisation, Jarga Allah Dad Khel, did a pilot scheme of putting up sign boards.
This technology is entirely local. A volunteer Riaz Khan took a week to make and put seven sign boards in different parts
of Hoti. The work has been much appreciated by the people. It reminds the authorities of neglecting the people and ignoring
the problems. Surely it's a failure to deliver on the part of those who were chosen to provide service.
Mardan Information and Advice Centre
Mardan.com has teamed up with local volunteers to set up an information centre and advice
centre (MIAC) in Mardan. This will provide reliable information about anything related to Mardan. The team will sincerely
work hard to provide help to the people of Mardan and the visitors from any part of the world.
Please contact on 0937
874489 if you need any information related to Mardan.
Award to local poets
1. A prominent poem from Mardan, Mahboob Ali Mahboob, received the 2005 Friends of Mardan.com
award. The award is based on the feedback of the visitors of Mardan.com. The friends of Mardan.com voted for his great poem,
"Da Pukhtoonkhwa Tasweer".
The poem is the favourite of many overseas Pukhtoons who see the true reflection of the
homeland in this poem. The poet received a certificate and a cash prize. This Award will be given every year to those individuals
whose good work is appreciated by the friends of mardan.com.
2. The Friends of Mardan.com Award is given every year
to a literary individual who is talented and has written some good poetry or prose. Consideration is given to encourage young
writers and those writers who are unable to promote their work due to financial difficulties.
The award for the
year 2006 has just been received by a very good poet from Mardan. His name is Mohammad Saeed Saeed and his poetry has been
published in many Pashto Magazines. Last year the award was given to the poet Mahboob Ali Mahboob.
Saeed belongs
to a poor family and his father, Zar Gul Baba, was also a good poet. His father did not go to school but his poetry is fascinating.
He knew all his poems by heart and always tried to entertain the audience in Mushairas and Hujras even in the presence of
the prominent poets.
Saeed Saeed received the award from Dr Israr in a ceremony held at Mardan Information and
Advice Centre. He also received a cash prize from Noorul Bashar Naveed, the editor of Pashto Magazine Leekwal. Here are a
few lines from his poetry:
Support Qamro Jan
This famous singer of her
time is living a miserable life as result of poverty. Her house is a small piece of land surrounded by old walls and has minimal
living facilities. One is ashamed of seeing such a poverty stricken house in the 21st century. She is unable to pay the rent.
Qamro Jan has been awarded by the Pakistan government for her good performance and she was given
the excellence award in 1999-2000.
Although it is a big achievement for her and she has enjoyed receiving the award
but in fact it is no more than a piece of metal. This is not going to bring an end to her miseries. Life is difficult for
her and she is becoming poorer day by day.
She deserves strong financial support not only from the provincial but
from the central government. The authorities and in particular the ministry of culture shall consider themselves responsible
for looking after people like Qamro Jan.
Mardan.com is pleased to announce that in response to our previous publication
about Qamro Jan, a public support for such artists has grown and to some extent we have been successful in conveying our message.
Apart
from this Qamro Jan has been awarded a certificate by the friends of Mardan.com along with a cash prize of 5000 rupees. .Moreover
the friends of Mardan.com have decided to pay her house rent for one year, from January 2006.It will be nice if other friends
come forward and join us in this good cause.
Pushto Eid Cards
Mardan.com designed and printed an Eid card which was first of its kind in the area. The
Pushto text "Akhtar Mo Mubarak Sha" has been appreciated by all those who received the card. The card shows the mountains
of Shahbaz Garha and the flower arrangement has been done by local people. The card went on sale and the money raised will
be used for the charitable work.
Post Cards
Mardan.com took another forward step when it introduced post cards of the historical places.
It has designed and printed two kinds of post cards. One is showing the Gandhara site of Takhtbai and the other is of Shahbaz
Garha. The images are very attractive and will popularize Mardan throughout the world.
These are available from Mardan
Information and Advice Centre. If you are living abroad and your relatives love you then they shall send you the post cards.
It does not cost much and you will appreciate the beauty of your homeland.
Pasoon Magazine
Mardan has remained the centre of literary activities throughout its history. Numerous Magazines,
Newspapers, pamphlets and Books have been published. In this way it has served the local Pukhtoon culture, history and traditions.
Some of these publications could not survive long enough because of financial difficulties. The other reason was that all
these efforts were limited to individuals only and there was no team work.
Mardan Information and Advice Centre has
taken a step to make a progress in cultural issues along with social problems. The team has decided to publish a Bimonthly
Magazine called "Pasoon". This is a Pushto word which means "to wake up " or to wake someone up.The Editorial Board has the
names of prominent writers and poets. These include Dr. Israr, Shamsul Qamar Andesh, Muhammad Iqbal Iqbal, Asghar Lala and
Faizul Wahab Faiz.
It will be a non political magazine and will have a variety of attractions for the readers. The
first Edition will be out in the first week of December 2005.It has the picture of Takhtbai Mountains
on the Title page and will be known as Takhtbai Edition. The general consensus is that it will be a magazine of a high standard
in Pushto language and it will be in the hands of every Pukhtoon in the first week of December.
Pasoon will be a great addition to the Pushto literature and its first publication has been
appreciated by a wider group of Pashto readers.
Mardan.com Cricket Club
Mardan.com Cricket Club (M.CCC) was formed on 17 May 2006.It will work together with local
cricket organisations for the development of cricket in Mardan.It will look into the development of new sports grounds in
Mardan. It will encourage players to participate in competitive games.It will look for new talent and will introduce new players.It
will promote cricket at school levels.The ultimate aim is to prepare players who will represent Mardan at international level.
The initial team is very much local but gradually it will get players from all areas of Mardan. The team will take
part in competitive matches and later on M.CCC will sponsor major tournaments in Mardan.
Mardan.com Cricket Club Team:
Izhar Khan (captain),Syed Mustafa, Sheraz, Sarwar, Shehzad, Fawad khan,Pukhtoon Yar Khan (wicket keeper),Imtiaz, Naveed ,Sher
Alam ,Zakaria Bacha, Imran Ali,Bilal Shah and Waleed Khan
Amin Khan is the coache of the team.Any interested party
or individual can become a member of the club.Contact 0937 874489 for more information.
B K Khan Scholarship
This scholarship was awarded to two Female students to help and encourage them in their
further studies.For this year one scholarship has been give to a student from Shergar and the second one to a student from
Loondkhwar.The funds were raised by the Friends of Mardan.com.
B K Khan Scholarship
This scholarship was awarded to two Female students to help and encourage them in their
further studies.For this year one scholarship has been give to a student from Shergar and the second one to a student from
Loondkhwar.The funds were raised by the Friends of Mardan.com.
Medical Camps
Mardan Information and Advice Centre organised a free camp for Diabetic Patients in Hoti
Mardan on Tuesday 27 February 2007.Around 60 patients atteded the camp despite heavy rain.AIMS (Abaseen Medical Institute
of Medical Sciences) which runs Sugar Aspatal in Hayat Abad,sent a team from Peshawar.
There will be regular camps in Mardan
on a monthly basis.A sugar test(Blood Sugar and HbA1C) will be done and some patients will be given free medicines including
Insulin.For details ring on Mobile phone number:0333-9851583.
Gandhara Brochure
Mardan Information and Advice Centre has produced a brilliant brochure to make
things easier and more attractive for the people and tourists coming to Mardan.The brochure is about Gandhara Civilisation
and Gandhara Tourists sites in and around Mardan. The brochure will be distributed to the various departments related to culture,history,archaeology
and tourism.
If you want to know about Gandhara or if you want to tell friends about it then please get the free brochure.And
we hope you will find it attarctive and useful
