MANSEHRA: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has constituted a committee to identify reasons for the long delay in the completion of the New Balakot City housing project meant for the survivors of the 2005 earthquake.

“The committee formed by the commissioner of Hazara division will pinpoint hurdles to this mega housing project being developed at around 15,000 kanals of land,” project director of Kaghan Development Authority Arif Baloch told reporters here on Saturday.

Mr Baloch said the committee consisting of director general of the Provincial Earthquake Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Authority Kaniz Sughra, additional deputy commissioner of Mansehra Yasir Khan, assistant commissioner (revenue) Assad Lodhi and others would submit its report to the provincial government.

Admin offers KDA to take over Rs14bn initiative

He said a meeting held with commissioner of Hazara division Zaheerul Islam in the chair offered the KDA to take over the Rs14 billion New Balakot City housing project.

“The KDA’s technical committee will respond to the offer within 10 days,” he said.

The groundbreaking of the New Balakot city housing project was performed in 2007 by the then military ruler, General Pervez Musharraf, and it was scheduled to be completed in 2011.

However, it hasn’t happened yet to the misery of the earthquake survivors, who have been living in makeshift shelters in Balakot even 14 years after displacement.

ROAD BLOCKED: The residents blocked the Karakoram Highway to protest the death of a student in a road accident in Battle area on Saturday.

Ninth grader Abdullah was run over and killed by a truck after he fell out of his school van while returning home.

The residents of Battle area took to the streets against the death and blocked the KKH suspending traffic for more than an hour.

They demanded the arrest of the truck driver, who fled after the incident.

The police officials held talks with protesters, including the schoolchild’s family members, by involving PTI’s Dr Mohammad Zaheer and JUI-F’s Maulana Nasir Mahmood.

The protesters agreed to disperse peacefully after the police promised them the early arrest and trial of truck driver.

TIMBER SEIZED: A joint team of the police and forest department seized a large quantity of timber in Dilbori area here on Saturday as it was being smuggled from Battagram to lower parts of Hazara division.

The seizure was made by the team led by sub-divisional forest officer Saeed Wazir and Oghi police station head Nasir Khan on a tip-off.

The team intercepted a truck and seized large beams of high-quality wood.

The police arrested truck driver Asghar Ali and booked him under the forest law.

Published in Dawn, May 19th, 2019