TIMERGARA: Residents whose land was acquired for the Koto-Maidan road on Saturday demanded of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government and Lower Dir administration to pay them land compensation.

Talking to mediapersons here, the area elders, including Amanullah, Abdul Razaq and Hafiz Fazal Azeem, also called for taking measures for spraying water on the under-construction road, as rising dust had been causing throat and chest infections among the residents of the nearby areas.

They said that their shops, houses and boundary walls of houses were razed by the administration for the Koto-Maidan road extension. They said that work on the road had been underway while they had not been compensated so far. The residents said that their agriculture land had also been used in the project.

The elders said that the local administration had promised the landowners to compensate them a year ago. They said that the authorities concerned had been contacted for acceptance of their demands, but to no avail.

The Koto residents threatened to stop work on the road if their demands were not accepted within two weeks.

BOOST FOR PTI: Several workers at Sabar Sah village in Rabat here on Saturday announced to quit their parties and join PTI during a function.

The function was addressed by PTI local activists, including Alam Shah, Inam Khan, Rahatullah, Mian Gul Zahoor and Mohammad Ali. On this occasion, Maulana Qasim, Dilawar Khan, Iqbal Mohammad, Gul Said Shah, Samiullah and others also announced to join PTI.

The speakers said that workers from other parties had been joining PTI because they trusted its leadership and stand against corruption. They said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif should immediately step down after the Panama case JIT report.

The speakers also criticised Jamaat-i-Islami lawmakers from the district and said that they had done nothing for development of the area.

TRAFFIC PROBLEMS: Lower Dir deputy commissioner Attaur Rehman accompanied by traffic police officials visited the city areas to review traffic problems.

Timergara tehsil council convener Asfandyar and tehsil municipal officer Badshah Mohammad were also present on the occasion. The deputy commissioner interacted with the citizens and sought their suggestions for resolving traffic issues.

Talking to mediapersons, he said that the administration was committed to resolving public grievances regarding traffic mess in and around the city. He said a workable plan for smooth traffic flow would be evolved with the consultation of all stakeholders.

Published in Dawn, July 16th, 2017