KOHAT: The traders have refused to shift to the newly built fruit and vegetable market until the place is equipped with all the promised facilities.

The decision was taken at a meeting held here on Sunday. Speaking on the occasion, Haji Sharifullah, the divisional president of commission agents, said that the traders would not move to the new facility which was without promised police checkpost, a bank branch, latrines, sheds and a 10-foot high boundary wall.

The meeting was attended by the chairman of the commission agents, Haji Asmatullah Khan Afridi, Haji Iqbal, Haji Shah Wali, Tariq Afridi, Niaz Mohammad, Abdul Wahid and Shah Mehmood.

Haji Sharifullah said that the tehsil municipal administration should first fulfill its promise about providing facilities at the new fruit and vegetable market and then ask the traders to shift there. He said although the new market was situated far from the bazaar, they had decided to shift there. He said that the commission agents had hired 37 shops five years back, and they were still awaiting return on their investment as no one liked to shit to the market as it was without basic facilities.

The participants criticised chief municipal officer for empowering local PML-N youth wing president to allot plots to businessmen on his own discretion. They demanded that other contractors should also be involved in the process to ensure transparency.

The commission agents also announced that from today (Monday) they would not pay loading and unloading tax imposed by the tehsil municipal administration as it didn’t exist in any part of the province.

The district government had acquired 65 kanals of land in 2008 for building a modern fruit and vegetable market at a cost of Rs70 million near the new bus stand on the Bannu road.

The participants of the meeting appealed to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister to take notice of the issue and direct the officials to return their money or complete the market according to the contract made at the time of payment.

Published in Dawn, June 30th, 2014