KOHAT: MNA Shehryar Afridi has said tenders have been floated for a project of building canals from the Zameer Gul Dam at a cost of Rs190 million to help the farmers of Sheikh Allah Dad union council irrigate their barren lands.

Talking to journalists here on Sunday, he said work on the dam had started in 2014 and completed in 2017 at a cost of Rs2 billion. He said the people had been demanding construction of canals from the dam for irrigating their lands. He said the construction of canals would start soon.

Separately, the Kohat Chamber of Commerce and Industry has accused the government of backing out of its promise to relax the lockdown during the last days of Ramazan to facilitate the traders to make up for the losses they suffered due to frequent restrictions on businesses.

In a statement issued on Sunday, KCCI president Asad Javed and former president Rasheed Paracha said the government’s faulty economic policies had caused unprecedented unemployment.

They feared that lockdowns might result in bitter reaction by the business community. They said the government should have introduced an online system like Amazon to help the traders deliver footwear, readymade garments, open cloth and others items to the homes of buyers.

The KCCI leaders said the traders had purchased large stocks from Punjab and Karachi, but due to business restrictions they won’t be able to sell it. They said the traders were even not able to pay rents of their shops.

LOW GAS PRESSURE: The people have demanded of the district administration to lift ban on LPG filling shops keeping in view the low gas pressure in the area.

Mr Adeel, a local resident, said the people were unable to cook food due to low gas pressure.

Shah Mehmood, president of Kohat Peace Council, said people had to bring food items from bakeries due to low gas pressure.

Zulfiqar Shah, a resident of Jungle Khel, regretted that people suffered due to low gas pressure, especially at Sehri and Iftar.

The residents demanded of the deputy commissioner to lift the ban on LPG filling shops during Ramazan and Eid. They also asked the SNGPL to improve gas pressure.

Published in Dawn, May 10th, 2021