MANSEHRA:Dor Mera tehsil council chairman Maulana Shah Zameen on Friday complained that the government had failed to rehabilitate roads and other infrastructure damaged or destroyed by the recent and last year’s flash floods.

“We (local body members) are toothless and don’t have cash to rehabilitate the flood-hit infrastructure,” Mr Zameen told reporters.

Accompanied by tehsil councillors, the council chairman said the residents suffered due to a delay in reconstruction of infrastructure and other facilities.

He complained that the post of the assistant commissioner in the tehsil had long been lying vacant and thus, delaying the infrastructure’s rehabilitation.

Mr Zameen said local body members hadn’t been paid even honorarium since the LG system was installed in the region one and a half years ago.

He said Torghar was given the district in 2011 through a presidential order but it continued to be without an account office and therefore, his tehsil and others faced enormous financial challenges.

“If the government doesn’t rehabilitate infrastructure, including roads, the local government’s representatives and people will take to the streets,” he said.

Meanwhile, the food department has disposed of adulterated milk in large quantities and fined dozens of milk sellers during a campaign here.

“We have launched a 10-day crackdown on adulterated milk. Until now, we’ve seized milk weighing hundreds of kilogrammes and disposed it of, while a heavy fine has been imposed on dozens of milk sellers,” district food controller Uzma Shah told reporters here on Friday.

Ms Shah said the campaign was launched on the directions of food secretary Abid Wazir and director Yasir Hussain.

She said shopkeepers had been warned against selling adulterated and contaminated milk to prevent fines.

The official said the department was collecting milk samples from across the district for lab testing.

She said the people could file complaints about the sale of unhealthy milk with the department for action.

Published in Dawn, August 12th, 2023