PESHAWAR, Sept 6: People from the localities of Ghanj and Shikhabad on Wednesday protested against an illegal vehicle stand adjacent to Circular Road and accused the nazim of abetting influential people to operate heavy vehicles in densely populated area.

They said that rising pollution was causing a surge in diseases of nose, throat and lungs among people.

“This illegal stand has been operating for the past 22 years, making the life of local residents miserable,” Haji Ihsanullah and others told a news conference at the press club here.

They said that the city district government was reluctant to shift the stand from the area despite it being a major contributor to chronic traffic congestion in the area and inconvenience to pedestrians and commuters alike.

The local residents said that Town-1 administration had announced to closing down all vehicles stands operating in congested population but no concrete action had so far been taken.

“We appeal to the NWFP chief minister and the senior minister to order the shifting of the illegal stand from our area, otherwise we would resort to protests and block roads to press for our demands,” the local residents warned the authorities. — PPI