January 15, 2008	Tuesday	Muharram 05, 1429

PESHAWAR, Jan 14: House rents in the city have gone up as people fleeing the embattled Swat and tribal regions have been flocking the provincial capital.

“People in large numbers have been migrating to the city from the Swat district and North and South Waziristan, Kurram and Bajaur agencies,” said estate dealers.

They said house rents in Hayatabad had risen by 100 per cent over the past few months. The rent of a 10-marla house, they added, had jumped from Rs15,000-18,000 per month to Rs25,000-35,000.

Lately, people have been coming in droves from Swat and the Kurram Agency, where violence has erupted.

Thousands of people from Ippi, Mir Ali, Haiderkhel and Iramshah villages of North Waziristan and Matta, Bar and Koza Banda, Imam Dheri, Chaprial and Peuchar areas of the Swat district have left for Peshawar. Most of the estimated 2000 property dealers in Peshawar have run out of houses in view of the demand by the displaced people from the conflict-wracked areas.

Most of well-off families are seeking residences in posh localities of the city while the poor ones are looking for houses in adjacent villages.

A dental surgeon, Ihsanullah, said he had a well-established clinic in Swat but he had to rent a rundown 20-marla house in Canal Town for Rs30, 000 a month.

“I have to safeguard my family members. I am trying to get myself transferred here. Even I am ready to quit my job,” he added.

Hayatabad Township, with approximately 15,000 residential units of 3, 5, 7, 10 and 14 marlas and one and two kanals, is the most sought-after locality.

“We rented out a 5-marla house at Rs30,000 in Phase III to a family from Darra Adamkhel. The appropriate rent of this house can be Rs7,000,” said Mazhar Wakeel Durrani, president of the Hayatabad Property Dealers Association.

The miseries of the displaced people have proved a blessing for house-owners, who, violating the rules allowing 10 per cent annual raise in rents, have increased rents by 50-70 per cent. Owners sent notices to tenets to vacate their houses in their bid to get enhanced rates.

The exodus began last year when hundreds of tribesmen from North and South Waziristan moved to Peshawar. Most of such people are likely to stay in the city permanently.