MANSEHRA: Four kiosks were gutted and two shops collapsed in separate incidents here on Tuesday night.

However, no damage to public life was reported. A fire erupted on Pano Road destroying four prefabricated kiosks leased out by the tehsil municipal administration.

The fire was caused by the explosion of a faulty power transformer installed in close proximity. Also in the night, two shops caved in on Abbottabad Road.

Owners of the shop blamed the TMA sanitation department’s negligence for the incident, saying the TMA didn’t remove heaps of garbage from the sewer running under houses and thus, causing their obstruction.

They demanded proper compensation for the loss. Trader leader Shoaib Khan told reporters that the traders had asked the TMA to change the 50KV faulty transformer but the latter’s failure to do so caused the gutting incident.

He said though the TMA had announced the reconstruction of gutted cabins, it should also compensate shopkeepers, who suffered over Rs2 million losses.

Meanwhile, the recipients of old age benefits formed a committee here on Wednesday for the resolution of their problems. The development comes during a meeting attended largely by pensioners from across Mansehra district.

Haji Aurangzeb, who chaired the meeting, said the employees entitled to old age benefits didn’t get payments on time.

He said the representatives of the recipients of old age benefits would soon meet the relevant officials to inform them about their problems and seek corrective measures.

Published in Dawn, August 16th, 2018