SWABI, Feb 26: Elected representatives from Swabi have demanded that the district be declared calamity-hit because the recent wet spell had caused unprecedented damage to property and loss of human life.

A number of houses had collapsed, big potholes rendered roads unusable, and crops suffered significant damage, district nazim Jehan Zeb Khan said.

The district government needs extra funds to help the affected people and provide financial assistance to them.

"The people had attached great expectations with the district government but what could we do without funds," he said.

Muhammad Usman, MNA, who belongs to Jamaat-i-Islami, said the main source of livelihood in the district was tobacco crop but its plantation had already been delayed, dimming the prospects of a good harvest.

The federal government did not extend the required assistance and the MMA government alone could not cope with the magnitude of the disaster brought on by rain, he said.

Maulana Khalil Ahmad, MNA, who belongs to the JUI-F, said it was the responsibility of the government to provide adequate assistance in cash and kind to the NWFP but people's expectations were shattered when the federal government only focused on Balochistan.

The president of Swabi Independent Group, Muqarab Khan, said a majority of the people in the district depended on agriculture.

"If the federal government failed to come forward then the position of the MMA would further strengthen because its leaders are telling the people that the apathy of the federal government is to blame for their misery," he said.

SMUGGLER ARRESTED: The Swabi Police foiled an attempt to smuggle huge quantities of cannabis (chars) and opium to Punjab on Saturday.