KARAK: The local farmers and traders have rejected the tehsil municipal administration’s proposed taxes on cash crop of ground nuts and other agricultural produce.

The decision was made in a joint meeting of Farmers Association and Anjuman Tajiran here on Thursday.

The traders’ leader Abdul Wadood Khan and farmers’ representatives Haji Hayat Khan and Haji Rafiuddin addressed the meeting.

They said that Karak TMA was collecting taxes without providing any kind of facility to farmers. They criticised Tehsil Municipal Officer Ajmal Khan for the proposed taxes on ground nuts and other agricultural yields.

The speakers said that Peshawar High Court had banned the load and unload tax on crude oil in the district but TMA imposed the tax with another name of service tax.

They alleged that Karak TMA failed to deliver and had become only tax collection institution but the taxes were not spent on the welfare of the people. They said that the TMA could not sustain the pressure of its employees and it had become only a white elephant for the dwellers of Karak. They said if an institution failed to carry out its mandated duties, then there was no justification of its existence and demanded that all the three TMAs working at the district level should be abolished as their existence had become the source of corruption.

They resolved that they would move court against the proposed taxes and would also organise protest against it.

DISEASE: District Health Officer Sadiq Shah Afridi has confirmed outbreak of leishmaniasis disease, which is caused by sand fly, in10 union councils of the district.

He told journalists here on Thursday that leishmaniasis broke out in 10 union councils including Karak North, Karak South, Warana Latamber, Shnawa Guddikhel, Ghundi Mir Khankhel, Palosa Sar, Sabirabad, Nari Panos, Bahaderkhel and Jatta Ismailkhel.

He said that a large number of cases had been reported in those union councils.

Published in Dawn, October 16th, 2020