KOHAT, Jan 5: Scores of people ended blockade of Shakardarra oil fields here on Thursday after Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) began work on the pipeline for gas supply to the areas within five-kilometre radius of the town.

Acting district coordination officer Anwar Sadozai, regional officer Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) Mushfiq Paracha, representative of SNGPL Falaknaz and field manager of Chanda oil and gas fields Arif Bangash showed up for dialogue after people protesting absence of basic amenities, especially gas supply, stopped oil tankers from leaving the oilfield. Traders, too, pulled down shutters in protest.

Officials of the relevant government department and agencies assured protesters of early gas supply, fair water distribution by tankers from the OGDCL's welfare fund and end to delivery of inflated power bills.

Protesters, however, linked end to transportation blockade with arrival of gas pipes, which came in after a short while.

And after SNGPL officials promised their early laying, protesters left the place. President Kohat Bar Association Imtiaz Qureshi, former union council nazims of local urban and rural areas Qazi Saifur Rehman, Riazur Rehman, Mohammad Naeem, Naeem Khan and Mumtaz Hussain Pachasee, labour union's Mohammad Younis and former nazim of Shakardarra town Abdur Rasheed Khattak represented protesters.

Locals said the area produced oil and gas valuing billions of rupees every year and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa received billions of rupees worth of royalty of it but they had been denied gas supply. They also complained of absence of drinking water and said they depended on OGDCL water tankers.

People criticised their elected representatives for approving no mega development project, including construction of dam and grid station in Shakardarra. They also regretted that the prime minister and the chief minister repeatedly instructed SNGPL to ensure early gas supply but to no avail.