SWABI: Students of the Government Sir Sahibzada Memorial Degree College Kotha blocked the Swabi-Topi Road for over two hours against the used of their college’s premises for the district campus of the Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Women University Peshawar.

Holding placards and shouting slogans against the government, the protesters marched from the college to Miani Chowk disrupting traffic.

They said they would not end the road blockade until the decision to open the SBBWU campus at a college building was withdrawn.

The campus was recently established by the current PTI government in the college building put up by the last ANP government for agricultural research in Gulo Dheri (Bamkhel).

Speaker of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Asad Qaisar is reported to be behind it.

Student leaders told protesters that the government should purchase land for the women university’s campus in Gulo Dheri instead of establishing it on the college premises.

They said during the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal government, the college’s hostel was given to Fazal Ali Model School, which was later named as Swabi Model School, but they won’t allow the handing over of the college’s other parts to any organisation.

JEWELLERS PROTEST: Leaders and workers of the Tehsil Topi Sarafa Association protested the police’s failure to arrest looters of local jewellery shops after the passage of one year.

They marched from the main district market to the district police officer’s offices before blocking the nearby road for more than half an hour.

The protesters the early arrest of robbers and recovery of Rs16 million looted jewellery and money.

They dispersed peacefully after the district police assured them that they would address their grievances soon.

Published in Dawn, March 17th, 2015

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