KOHAT: Scores of shop owners in flea market of Kotal Plaza here on Thursday appealed to the government to pay them compensation for their millions worth of goods burnt down in a blaze that erupted on the second day of Eid (Tuesday) so they could renovate shops and restart their businesses.

A huge blaze engulfed the whole flea market causing losses of over Rs20 million, according to the Afghan refugee shopkeepers. The city police said in a report that front shops and several warehouses inside were gutted as reported by the shopkeepers.

MPA Ziaullah Bangash along with Kohat city mayor Qari Sher Zaman visited the area and assured the affected traders of financial help.

President of the market Mr Murtaza said they had recently bought stocks of second-hand and new items, including Chinese blankets, curtains, footwear, polyester blankets, pillows, curtains, bed sheets, garments, etc. He said each shop had items worth Rs1 million to Rs1.5 million, adding they had been rendered bankrupt.

Mohammad Sami, who worked in a shop, believed the fire was caused by an electric short-circuit when the market was open. He said within seconds all items, including cloth, hosiery, blankets and other such items, were gutted as strong winds aggravated the problem.

Meanwhile, fire destroyed scores of cloth and footwear shops which broke out in Miankhel Bazaar here on Wednesday.

TRADER DEPRIVED OF CASH: Armed masked robber deprived a cosmetics shop owner in Miankhel Bazaar of Rs60,000 at gunpoint on Thursday.

Owner of the shop, Mohammad Sharafat, told local police that he was sitting in his shop when a masked man put a pistol on his temple and asked him to hand over all cash.

The police have registered a case against the unknown robber.

Meanwhile, two persons were killed and two others seriously injured when their Bannu-bound car overturned on the Indus Highway in Lachi tehsil on Wednesday. The local police said the accident occurred due to speeding.

Published in Dawn,May 6th, 2022