SHANGLA: The local residents and tourists have demanded the immediate repair of a dilapidated major road, which leads to Puran tehsil.

They insisted their repeated requests to the administration for the road repairs had fallen on deaf ears despite allocations of funds.

The people told Dawn that the 70 kilometres long road was constructed two years ago but it caved in at various points during the April 2016 rainfall, while landslides had also damaged the artery.

People say deadly traffic accidents common on artery

“The Yakhtangay Road is only way to reach Puran, Martung and Makhozi tehsils but it is in a very bad shape. Many deadly accidents have been reported on it in the recent past,” local resident Javed Ali told Dawn.

He claimed the district administration had received Rs530 million in Ramazan to repair the roads, especially those in Puran, but the money had yet to be spent on them.

Another local resident, Imdad Durrani, said the Board-Puran road was very important artery but traffic accidents on it were common due to it bad shape.

Nizamuddin, local resident, said the road’s condition was gradually worsening.

He said the government and local lawmakers should step in and ensure the immediate repair of the road to promote tourism and save lives.

When contacted, district nazim Niaz Ahmed Amir Muqam said his government was aware of the road’s bad condition and would ensure the start of repairs to the road next week.

TRAINING: The Sarhad Rural Support Programme on Friday organised a training session for the village council members and nazims here in Shahpur on the powers and funds.

Eighty members of the local government from across Kana tehsil attended the event.

Nazim Mohammad Zada of Koz Kana said the training session helped local government representatives understand their powers and duty and the ways to utilise funds.

“The LG system is complicated with many members unable to work under it. I hope they would’ve learned something about it in the training programme,” said Serai naib nazim Irshad Khan told Dawn.

Later, certificates were distributed to participants.

INTERVIEWS POSTPONED: The district administration on Friday postponed interviews for the computer operator posts at the deputy commissioner’s office in Shangla.

It said the development occurred on the directives of the provincial government.

New schedule for the interviews will be announced later on.

Published in Dawn, July 30th, 2016