MANSEHRA: The residents, whose land was acquired for Manchora dam, protested the nonpayment of dues here on Saturday.

They warned that they would block the Oghi-Mansehra Road and move the Peshawar High Court if the dues were not paid by Feb 9.

“The district administration acquired thousand kanals of our agricultural land and houses two years ago but it hasn’t paid us even a single penny for it,” former nazim of Tarawray village council Ghulam Mohammad told protesters at the dam site in Manchora area. The protesters shouted slogans against the government over nonpayment of dues.

The former nazim said the people affected by the Manchora dam project would block the Oghi-Mansehra Road to all sorts of traffic on Feb10.

“We will also file a petition with the Peshawar High Court’s Abbottabad Circuit Bench to seek orders for the government to pay us for our lands, houses and trees acquired for the project,” elder Raj Mohammad said.

He said the commissioner of Hazara division and deputy commissioner of Mansehra district had rushed to meet the dam-affected families last year and promised them the early payment of dues, but the promise wasn’t fulfilled.

Assistant commissioner of Oghi Mohammad Shojeen Vistro later met protesters and requested them to withdraw the protest call.

“We have sent the relevant files to the irrigation department for the release of money. It will take us little time to pay you the dues,” he said.

The protesters announced that they would go ahead with the Oghi-Mansehra Road blockade plan in Oghi on Monday.

ROAD ACCIDENT: A pickup vehicle overturned in Jabba area here on Saturday injuring 14 commuters, including four women.

The vehicle was bound for Balakot from Shinkiari carrying members of a family.

The accident occurred as the driver lost the vehicle’s control while negotiating a sharp turn.

The locals shifted the injured to the King Abdullah Teaching Hospital, where the condition of three of them was stated to be critical.

DOG CULLING: The residents have complained about the growing number of street dogs in Judbah area here and demanded of the administration to cull them for threatening their health and life.

They told reporters that street dogs had bitten six minor children in the area in the last one week.

Rabnawaz said the administration should begin a drive to cull street dogs wandering everywhere.

He said people had stopped children from stepping out along fearing dog attacks.

Deputy commissioner Mansoor Arshad said he had ordered the tehsil municipal officer of Judbah to immediately eliminate street dogs from the area.

He said the civil hospital had adequate stock of anti-rabies vaccine, so the children bitten by dogs were properly treated.

Published in Dawn, February 9th, 2020