SWABI: Fire broke out on Thursday in three tobacco kilns in different areas, inflicting huge losses on the growers, who had already suffered losses due to hailstorm in the current season.

Three days ago, three godowns of tobacco also caught fire and cured tobacco worth millions of rupees turned into ashes.

The first incident occurred in Dok village when the kiln of Islamuddin and Bacha Gul caught fire and within no time engulfed the entire building.

Similarly, the kiln of Salamat Khan in Jalsai village also caught fire due to unknown reasons.

The Rescue 1122 teams and local people made all out efforts to extinguish the fire.

Ghani Sarwar of Yar Hussain village told journalists that his kiln caught fire due to falling of tobacco leafs on the main pipe during the curing process but the rescue team, firefighters and local people helped in controlling the fire.

ROBBERY: Robbers took away a number of water pumps and various other items from a shop and deprived a trader of Rs525,000 at gunpoint in separate incidents here the other day.

Unidentified men broke the locks of a shop in Topi city and decamped with water pumps, engine oil and various other items.

Ayaz Khan, the shop owner, said he found the shutter of his outlet broken and various items missing when he came to his workplace in the morning.

Two motorcyclists intercepted a trader on Yar Hussain-Kalu Khan Road in Razaar tehsil and snatched Rs525,000 from him at gunpoint.

In another incident, Nauroz Khan, a resident of Gohati village, drowned in Pehur High Level Canal while bathing along with his friends.

Published in Dawn, July 9th, 2021