TIMERGARA: Different games and cultural events were held on the second day of a two-week-long youth and sports festival jointly arranged by the Lower Dir district and Balambat tehsil governments on Sunday.

The festival is being held at the scenic Sheen Ghar area of Lajbok Dara.

Jamaat-i-Islami MNA Sahibzada Yaqub Khan inaugurated the festival during a colourful function.

Sports’ competitions like cricket, hockey, volleyball, football, tug-of-war, basketball, karate and other traditional games would be played among different sports clubs.

Lower Dir District Nazim Mohammada Rasool Khan, deputy commissioner Attaur Rehman, area elders and players attended the inaugural function.

Addressing the function, the JI MNA said the festival was aimed to provide entertainment opportunities to local youth besides promoting tourism as people from far off areas wished to visit the scenic spots in Sheen Ghar.

He said tourism sector had great potential in Dir that needed government attention. “Sports also develop friendship and brotherhood among youth from different areas,” the lawmaker said.

INCOMPLETE WATER SUPPLY SCHEME: Scores of locals in Asbanr Qila area on Sunday held a demonstration against the public health engineering department for its failure to complete the ongoing water supply scheme in their area.

The protesters blocked the road at Asbanr for some time and chanted slogans against the executive engineer and SDO of public health. They complained that local MPA Bakht Baidar Khan had approved Rs15 million for water supply scheme in 2014, and work on it started immediately afterwards, but the project could not be complete in three years due to which local residents were forced to fetch water from distant places. They said due to drought-like situation majority of wells and natural springs had dried up and residents had no alternative source of drinking water.

They said an FIR would soon be registered against the XEN, SDO and the contractor concerned if work on the project was not resumed within two weeks.

Meanwhile, MPA Bakht Baidar told journalists that he had talked to the concerned officials and work on the project would start soon.

Published in Dawn, July 10th, 2017