KOHAT: The transporters have demanded removal of catseyes (reflectors) from highways and city roads as they damage the vehicles’ tyres and cause accidents.

Talking to mediapersons here on Saturday, Pir Adil Shah, president of flying coach association, and transporter Fareed Khan said the Supreme Court had ordered their removal, but to no effect. They said the catseyes disturbed the wheel alignment and balancing and gave jerks to the passengers.

They demanded that proper speed-breakers should be constructed according to the international laws for slowing down the vehicles at only required places.

They asked the National Highway Authority to remove the cat eyes from the roads. Traffic in-charge Arab Jan said the issue had been raised with the NHA which had removed them at some places but still they were remaining in some areas.

In a separate development, the police arrested two tribesmen while taking weapons from Darra Adamkhel tribal subdivision in a pickup van to South Waziristan at the Muslimabad checkpost on the Indus Highway on Sunday.

DSP Nazir Hussain said during search of the vehicle they recovered 22 pistols, 28,000 cartridges, eight buts and a large number of spare parts of arms.

The smugglers were named Naveed Khan and Israr Khan, residents of Darra.

Meanwhile, a boy was shot dead in Malangabad graveyard while a motorcyclist died after hitting a pole in Sayab area the other day.

The Junglekhel police said friends shot dead Naseem after a brawl.

The police registered FIR on the report of the deceased’s father against Kashif and Danish, and arrested Danish. Later, Kashif surrendered himself after a compromise was reached between both the parties under the Pakhtun tradition.

Separately, Shehzada Afridi of Sayab area was critically injured after he lost control of his motorcycle and hit a pole. He succumbed to injuries in a Peshawar hospital.

INTEREST-FREE LOANS: A local cement factory has launched a second project of extending interest-free loan facility in Razgir Banda, Bilitang to provide seed money to the poor to start businesses.

Firm’s security in-charge Ajmal Khan inaugurated the project.

On the occasion, he said the factory had started the project in 2014 and loans had been given to the poor to buy handcarts and open shops. He said the second project had been launched in Bilitang. He said the cement factory had been contributing in the fields of health and education.

Published in Dawn, February 15th, 2021