KARAK: The residents of Mammikhel, Shakarkhel and adjacent localities blocked on Monday a road being used by the MOL company vehicles to protest the firm’s alleged failure to provide them basic facilities of life.

The protesters blocked the link road from the Bannu-Kohat Road leading to the localities where the company is carrying out exploration activities.

Later, the police dispersed the protesters forcibly and arrested their leader, Wahid Gul, and reopened the road for the company vehicles.

The protesters complained that the company was using their lands for exploration activities, but they were facing shortage of drinking water.

The protesters alleged that the MOL was using the production bonus funds on the uplift of the areas other than where it was extracting oil and gas.

They said there was no one to hear their grievances and their rights had been compromised by vested interests.

The elders said the huge oil and gas resources were extracted from their lands but the people of these villages were still backward, having no basic facility of life.

Published in Dawn, April 5th, 2016