MARDAN, March 9: District Nazim Himayatullah Mayar has demanded of the provincial government to declare Mardan as calamity-hit area keeping in view the destruction of cane crop and increase in prices of fertilisers.

Talking to journalists at his office here on Sunday, Mayar said that growers of the district were suffering because of the closure of Premier Sugar Mills (PSM) Mardan while prices of various fertilisers were also increased manifold.

The administration of PSM closed the mills on Saturday on the pretext that cane was decayed and it was unable to produce the required sugar.

Mayar said that cane crop was standing on large number of land in the district and the growers had no other way to meet the challenges after the destruction of their standing crop.