MANSEHRA: The residents of earthquake red zone in Balakot have decided to organise a sit-in in front of the house of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chairman Imran Khan in Islamabad and seek his help for completion of the New Balakot City (NBC) housing project for their settlement.

They said that both the federal government and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government were not taking steps for their early settlement.

The decision was made in a meeting of survivors of the red zone of Balakot and Garlat union council on Saturday.

The work on NBC, which was being development with Rs13 billion to settle the 2005 earthquake survivors, had been suspended for the last many months after landlords and residents of Bakrial, where the city was situated, refused to vacate land.

“We have been living a miserable life in small shelters since Oct 2005 because of the negligence of the federal and provincial governments,” said Mohammad Ashraf while speaking at the meeting. He said that despite getting money the landowners of Bakrial were not vacating their land.

He said that the government should order action against such landlords so that the process of allotment could be started.

Speaking on the occasion, Mohammad Safar said that if work on NBC was not started within a week they would proceed to the residence of the PTI chief in Islamabad and hold sit-in there till his assurance to resolve the issue.

“Our only hope now is Imran Khan who can settle the issue,” said Mr Safdar. He said that the PTI chief had served the people of Balakot after the Oct 2005 earthquake and visited the area many times.

Speaking at the meeting, Yar Mohammad said that because of overcrowding in shelters the children and old people had been suffering from various diseases while they were exposed to extreme weather conditions both in winter and summer.

They said that they would apprise the PTI chief of their ordeals and in the second stage organise blockade of Balakot-Naran road to press the authorities to resume work on the project and complete it.

USC MEGA STORE: The first mega store of Utility Stores Corporation (USC) in Mansehra was opened on Saturday.

“We are providing people with quality goods at comparatively cheaper prices than the market,” claimed Khaqan Murtaza, the USC managing director, while speaking at the inaugural ceremony of store.

Mr Murtaza said that currently 145 stores were operating in Mansehra zone and their sale was higher than that of those in Karachi zone.

He said that salaries of employees were increased recently so that they could perform their duty responsibly. USC zonal manager Mukhtar Khattak and regional manager Khawaj Ahmad were also present on the occasion.