KARAK: An explosion flattened a gas cylinder filling shop and badly damaged two adjacent outlets in Mithakhel Bazaar here on Friday night.

Police officials said as the incident took place late night there was no loss of life. Soon after the incident, personnel of Rescue 1122 reached the spot and removed the rubble to salvage the goods.

Local traders demanded of the government to extend financial help to the affected shopkeepers, saying gas filling shops should be established in separate areas to minimise damage in case of any explosion in future.

FLOUR SHORTAGE: The traders’ association of Takht-i-Nusrati tehsil has demanded increasing the number of subsidised flour bags to the dealers to meet rising demand of the consumers. They regretted that only 100 flour bags of 20kg were being provided to the traders in the tehsil headquarters.

Speaking at a meeting on Saturday, the association’s general secretary Inayatullah Khattak complained only 100 bags for such a huge population were not enough, and demanded increasing the quota.

The traders alleged that subsidised flour was being provided to influential people, which should be stopped.

ROAD CONSTRUCTION: Work on Niazi Well to Palosa Sar Road could not be launched despite couple of inaugurations, complained the local activists of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf.

Speaking at a meeting on Saturday, the party’s president for Isak Chountra union council Ishfaq Ahmed and other office-bearers demanded of the party MNA Shahid Khan Khattak to start work on the road project without delay.

They said the residents from Isak Chountra and Palosa Sar were facing hardships due to bad shape of the road.

The meeting recalled that last month JUI-F MPA Mian Nisar Gul Kakakhel and MNA Shahid Khattak had separately inaugurated the road project, but work on it could not be launched. They said heavy machinery brought by the MNA at the time of its second inauguration had been taken away by the contractor.

They threatened to protest if work on the road project was not launched in a week.

Published in Dawn, September 20th, 2020