SHANGLA: Residents of Mian Kallay Pirabad here have demanded of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government and Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority to expedite and complete work on the Bisham-Swat main road up to Shaheeda Sar.

Talking to mediapersons on Friday, they said the 15km stretch of road in densely populated union council of Mian Kallay was approved after the 2005 earthquake and funds were allocated for it by Erra, but the work could not be completed as yet.

Abid Yaar, a resident, said that they had staged several protest demonstrations and held several meetings with the district administrations, but despite assurances the contractor was reluctant to expedite work on the road project. He said that so far only two-kilometre stretch had been black-topped and rest of the road was in a dilapidated condition due to which commuters continued to face problems.

Mohammad Gul, another resident, said that because of the bad condition of road they had been facing problems in shifting their patients to hospitals in Alpuri.

Sultan Khan of Mian Kallay said the MPA and MNA elected from the area should raise their voice for early completion of the project. The residents warned to block the Bisham-Swat road if their demand was not accepted.

Mian Kallay people say the project was approved after 2005 earthquake

ARRESTED: The police here on Friday arrested a proclaimed offender wanted in different cases at Kotkay area of Alpuri.

According to a statement issued by DPO Malak Ihjaz, a team of Alpuri police station raided a house in Kotkay area and arrested a proclaimed offender, Gul Bacha.

MINER LAID TO REST: A coal miner who was injured in a coal mine incident in Darra Adamkhel last week died at a hospital in Peshawar. He was buried at his ancestral graveyard in Koz Kana, Shangla, on Friday.

Three miners were critically injured and admitted to a hospital in Peshawar of which one Akhter Naeem of Koz Kana breathed his last on Thursday.

Meanwhile, rain and snowfall continued in all parts of Shangla district for the third consecutive day on Friday.

Published in Dawn, March 7th, 2020