CHITRAL, July 7: The residents of Oveer valley abandoned their programme to block the busy Booni road on the occasion of the Shandur polo festival on Monday after the district nazim assured them to fulfil their demand.

The residents were protesting against scrapping of the project of blacktopping of the Oveer road which had been included in the annual development programme (ADP) of the last fiscal year.

Addressing a press conference here on Monday, the Oveer union council nazim Islam Akbaruddin and district president of Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf, Chitral chapter, Abdul Latif said that the people of the Oveer valley would not tolerate the scrapping of the project and offer stiff resistance in this regard.

They claimed that they had amassed thousands of protesting people on the Booni road which leads to Shandur to register their resentment. They said that on the assurance of the Chitral district nazim, they postponed their protest by ten days on the expiry of which they would resort to more violent protests if the demand was not met.

Meanwhile, talking to Dawn here on Monday, district nazim Maghfirat Shah said that a potential danger to the polo event had been averted as the Booni road blockade by the protesters could have caused innumerable problems for those participating in the festival.

Meanwhile, the Shandur polo festival started on Monday and in the first match of the event, Ghizar team of Gilgit beat Laspur team of Chitral by 10 to 3 goals.

Thousands of people from Chitral and Gilgit and foreigners have reached the venue.