TIMERGARA: The residents of Khall tehsil on Thursday staged a protest demonstration against the establishment of a forest checkpost in Gopalum area and demanded its immediate abolition.

Workers of different political parties led by PML-N local leader Malik Jehanzeb, ANP district general secretary Malik Mohammad Zeb and JI’s Shad Nawaz Khan took part in the demonstration.

Speaking on the occasion, the area elders and political figures claimed that the forest checkpost at Gopalum had not been set up to check deforestation, but for earning money. They alleged that timber smuggling in official vehicles and deforestation in hilly areas had been on the rise without any check by the forest department.

The speakers said that residents were not allowed to transport even firewood. They demanded of the relevant authorities to abolish the checkpost as it could lead to an unpleasant incident.

DC INSPECTS POWER HOUSE: Lower Dir deputy commissioner Saadat Hassan and district police officer Arif Shahbaz Wazir on Thursday visited the under-construction Koto hydropower station and inspected different sections of the power house.

Project director Sultan-i-Room briefed them about the project and said it would cost Rs14 billion. He said that the project spread over 4.5km would generate 48.8MW of electricity. He said that 77 per cent work of the project had already been completed.

Mr Hassan said that the project would help resolve power crisis in the country to some extent.

Also in the day, the DC visited the casualty ward of DHQ Hospital, Timergara, where deputy medical superintendent Tariq Hassan briefed him about shortage of facilities in the hospital. The DC asked the hospital management to submit a report about missing facilities so that the high-ups could be approached for provision of modern facilities to the hospital.

Meanwhile, controller of examinations of Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Malakand Chakdara, Wazir Jan Sajid was stopped from performing as controller in the intermediate supplementary examinations, sources said.

A notification issued by the board chairman Hanifullah Khan said here on Thursday that assistant controller Naeemullah had been tasked to conduct the HSSC supplementary examinations to be held next month.

Published in Dawn, September 6th, 2019