KOHAT: The local residents, including civil society and political activists, have asked the federal state minister Sheharyar Afridi and adviser to the chief minister Ziaullah Bangash to take notice of gas suspensions and low pressure across the district.

Qazi Altaf and Ayaz Khan of Awami National Party threatened that the people would block the Rawalpindi Road if gas suspensions and low pressure were not done away with.

Akash Safdar, a local, alleged that uninterrupted gas supply was ensured to the three textile mills as the management bribed the SNGPL officials.

Local Sheikh Saeed suggested the CM’s adviser and the state minister should remain in the district to see for themselves the problems the locals were facing because of gas outages.

Farhatullah Paracha of Graden Colony said there was no gas supply in the locality since the winter had set in.

Likewise, the residents of Bashadar Kot, Gandiadli, Chakar Kot, Sheikhan and Nusratkhel also complained about gas outages.

Same was the case in College Town, Miangan Colony, Jarma, Mohallah Mian Badshah and the city areas.

ROYALTY FUNDS SOUGHT: A jirga of oil and gas-rich KP-81 has demanded provision of royalty funds to launch gas and other uplift projects in the most neglected constituency.

The jirga members, including Daud Afridi, former nazim Iqbal Khan, Ansar Khan, Fazale Rabbi and others, said all promises made with them prior to the 2018 elections remained to be met.

They said except Jarma, Sodal, Sumari, Mandori, Gandiali, Togh Bala, Shahpur, Chambai and Barh Jabbi areas had yet to be provided with gas facility since the natural source discovery in 2003.

They pointed out that the promised government land had not yet been allotted to the people of these areas.

They said Shahpur was the most deprived union council, where there was no electricity, gas, water, and roads were broken. They said they had presented their demands to state minister Sheharyar Afridi and hoped he would meet them.

CONSTRUCTIONS BANNED: The tehsil municipal administration has banned construction of markets and shops in the streets of the Kohat the city.

In a statement issued here the other day, tehsil municipal officer Mohammad Shoeb said people razed houses and erected shops and markets on the plots without taking NOC from the civic body, which was a cognizable offence under the Local Government Act, 2019.

He said there had been mushroom growth of markets and shops, even in the narrow streets.

He said the TMA won’t permit such constructions.

Published in Dawn, January 7th, 2021