KOHAT, June 11: The chemists and druggists’ association has accused the tehsil municipal administration (TMA) of auctioning off land belonging to the health department in violation of a stay order. Malik Abdul Hafeez, president of the chemists and druggists’ association, told a press conference on Friday that the tehsil municipal administration had begun constructing cabins illegally on roads and on land of other government departments as it hadn’t been able to pay its staff’s salaries.

He claimed that an auction of 34 cabins was held on Friday. The cabins were to be constructed adjacent to the eastern wall of Liaquat Memorial Hospital at a sewerage line, he said. According to Mr Hafeez, this action was not only illegal but also tantamount to the breaking of rules on encroachment by the TMA itself.

The office-bearers of the chemists and druggists’ association, accompanied by the president of Tajir Grand Alliance Haji Abid, said that sometime back the TMA had allotted them shops in front of the proposed site of cabins for Rs2 million each.

They complained that they had invested millions of rupees in the pharmaceutical sector and now the TMA wanted to construct illegal stores in front of their shops. The “illegal stores” were bound to have a negative impact on their sales, they said.

Mr Hafeez pointed out that the civil judge III, Sultan Hussain, had issued a stay order against the auction and had set June 14 as the date of the preliminary hearing, but despite that the TMA-held had gone ahead with the auction.

He announced that the association and bazaar union would soon meet Local Government Minister Sardar Mohammad Idrees and Health Minister Inayatullah Khan and apprise them about the whole situation and expose the corrupt practices of the TMA.

Others who attended the press conference included Azizur Rehman, Hafeezullah Jan, Zamin Ali, Haji Gulzar, Mohammad Tariq, Inayatullah Khan and Israr Shinwari.