March 5, 2002	Tuesday	Zilhaj 20, 1422

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HARIPUR, March 4: Criticizing the attitude of the district Nazim towards urban areas, the elected representatives belonging to three union councils of the city have decided to launch a protest movement if he fails to address their demands.

This decision was taken at a joint-meeting attended by all the Nazimeen, Naib Nazimeen, men and women councillors of central, north and south here in the Municipal Administration Hall on Sunday.

Tehsil Nazim Iftikhar Ashraf Khan also attended the meeting.

South UC Naib Nazim Abdul Shakoor said: “We will not hesitate from shutter-down to hunger strike, and will start collecting municipal taxes like water fee, market fee, professional fee by ourselves.”

The protest meeting was called by the opposition front— formed recently by the members of urban union UCs— and was presided over by its Chairman Iqbal Chohan, north UC Nazim.

Addressing on the occasion, Mr Chohan said the Nazim had ignored the urban union councils in various uplift projects and municipal services.

He explained that before the devolution of power the income of urban areas was being spent for the municipal services and upkeep of municipal areas in Haripur.

But after Aug 14, he deplored, the funds were allocated injudiciously depriving the city of development. Thus, condition of the city deteriorated manifold creating numerous problems for those the citizens, who paid taxes.

The participants complained that the office of the Nazim was empowered while the other elected representatives were just figureheads.

“ The new system is useless if we cannot get sanitation staff appointed for the cleanliness of our streets, and fails in providing potable water to our voters”, an enraged woman councillors said.

Some of the representatives accused the Nazim of turning deaf ear to the problems of urban areas, and extending undue favour to the Kalabat Township.

The participants demanded spending of income of urban UCs on the civic amenities to the people of Haripur besides declaring the area of the three urban councils as City Town by giving the powers to the elected representatives for running it.

They also demanded of the district government for the upgradation of primary schools of the urban UCs, water supply system to the residents.

Abdul Saboor Qureshi, Qazi Raza, Mohammad Irshad Khan, Abdul Haleem, Iqbal Begum, Shamsa Sufi also spoke on the occasion.

In the meanwhile, the Nazim in his rejoinder made it clear that he was not corrupt himself, and would not allow corruption and commission in the development projects.

He held some of the members responsible for creating chaos and seeking commission.

The Nazim told the meeting that two tractor trolleys were being purchased for the cleanliness of the city while a number of uplift projects were about to start.

“ I do not believe in the urban-rural divide”, he added.

KILLED: A young man was killed in a road accident near village Kotnajibullah, 11km from here, on Monday.

Rahsid Mehmood of village Pandak, who was going to the Hattar industrial estate on his own motorcycle, was hit by a Datsun pick-up near Kotnajibullah.

He was shifted to the hospital where he expired.