PESHAWAR, July 30: The NWFP Local Government and Rural Development Department has created 30 new union councils (UCs) in eight districts of the NWFP, raising the number of the UCs in the province from 957 to 987. In the Bannu district, nine more UCs have been made. Bannu, the hometown of Chief Minister Akram Durrani, now has a total of 49 union councils. The new union councils are Mandev, Hassani, Koti Sadat, Kakki-II, Surkari, Fateh Khel Kausar, Slaima Sikandar

Khel, Ismail Khel and Kot Qalandar.

The Kohat district got five new union councils, namely Shakardara Rural-II, Zirat Sheikh Alladad Sahib, Sumray, Alizai and Togh Bala-II. The number of the union councils in Abbottabad has been increased from 46 to 51 with new UCs coming up in the areas of Tajwal, Sher Shargi Bhattian, Bagnotar, Phalkot and Jarral.

The Mardan district has got one more UC, Hangu two UCs, Haripur one, Mansehra two, Dera Ismail Khan one and the Shangla district four. There is no such change in the Peshawar city district where the total number of union councils is 92.

The Jehangira union council, which previously was in the limits of the Swabi district, has been merged with the Nowshera district. Similarly, the union councils of Khal, Shalflam and Toormong have been detached from Upper Dir and merged with the Lower Dir district.