PESHAWAR: The people belonging to militancy-hit Bara tehsil of Khyber Agency have warned of staging a sit-in outside the Governor House in Peshawar and also marching on Islamabad if steps were not taken within next two weeks to rehabilitate the basic infrastructure in the region.

Speaking at a news conference at the Peshawar Press Club on Tuesday, Sipah Youth Organisation’s Bara president Fazal Amin Afridi said many of the internally displaced persons had returned to their villages in Sipah region amid destruction of basic infrastructure. He said no step was taken to reconstruct the infrastructure in the area.

The area people, he said were facing acute water shortage in several localities, adding all the 32 schools for boys and girls had been destroyed by militants and students were studying in the open as the government was yet to reconstruct the buildings.

Flanked by the organisation’s other officer-bearers and tribal elders, Mr Afridi said power pylons and transmission lines had been uprooted by unknown people after the displacement of people from Sipah area which kept the area deprived of electricity.

He said the Tribal Electric Supply Company had approved installation of 13 power transformers in Sipah which were insufficient, saying local MNA Nasar Afridi was facilitating only his relatives, friends and was least bothered to work for the common people.

He said most of tube-wells were non-functional due to suspension of power supply.

Mr Afridi expressed concern over the delay in initiation of assessment survey in Sipah areas, saying the process was causing delay in return of IDPs to their homes. He also complained about lack of facilities at Dogar hospital in Bara.

Mr Afridi said business activities had adversely affected due to closure of Bara Bazaar for last eight years and urged shifting of checkposts from the bazaar to revive hustle and bustle and ensure free movement of people. He called for a comprehensive relief package for the affected traders of Bara.

He said many areas in Sipah region had been cleared by security forces, but arrangements were not made for return of the displaced families.

He expressed anguish over suspension of ration supply by FDMA to the displaced families at their makeshift camps.

Published in Dawn, November 15th, 2017