SWABI: People of low-lying and flood-hit areas have demanded of the district administration to remove encroachments from natural watercourses to protect their houses from floods.

They told mediapersons that fear gripped them with start of rain on Sunday and more rain forecast for the next few days.

The previous floods caused so much damage that on Thursday the chief minister announced Rs1.2 billion relief package for the district when he visited the flood-affected areas.

The people here lamented that despite the chief minister’s clear directives the encroachments from the banks of the canals and those blocking natural waterways had not been removed by the district administration.

Akhtar Zaman whose Tand Koi village was affected in the recent flood said the chief minister had admitted that the scale of damage would have been far less if the encroachments from the natural watercourses had been removed in time.

Fear more damage in case of heavy rains

He said that another big issue confronted by people of the flood-affected areas was the standing rainwater becoming breeding ground for mosquitoes, which could cause different diseases.

Kunda is another low-lying area where water enters their houses in case of excessive rain.

The people said that it was responsibility of the district administration to take steps for removing encroachments, cleaning drains and improving the drainage system to protect the properties of people from destruction in case of heavy rains.

NIGAR NURSING COLLEGE: The Board of Governors of Gajju Khan Medical College and Bacha Khan Hospital Complex, Shahmansoor, has approved the name of Nigar College of Nursing, says a statement.

The college would be built adjacent to the medical college and expected to be completed till September next year.

Ms Nigar Johar, who belongs to Swabi district,is the first and only woman in the history of the Pakistan Army to attain the rank of lieutenant-general.

KILLED: Two brothers were shot dead in their shops near union council office in Razaar tehsil here on Sunday, said officials.

Parmuli police SHO said that two persons suddenly appeared and opened fire on them with pistols. As a result, Ali Zaman, 30, was killed on the spot and his brother Zeeshan Khan, 26, later succumbed to his injuries in the tehsil headquarters hospital.

An FIR was registered against Mohammad Ali alias Mogay and his brother Sajjad Ali, who are neighbours of the deceased.

When approached, local people said that a year ago some thieves had stolen water pump of the two brothers and they had mentioned several people along with the accused in the FIR.

They said that as soon as they came out of jail after serving their sentence, they targeted the two brothers.

Published in Dawn, July 25th, 2022