SHANGLA: A two-storey house was gutted after it caught fire in Ranyal area of Bisham tehsil here on Friday morning, residents said.

They told reporters that fire erupted in one of the rooms of the house, mostly made of wood, in remote Sangrai village, which engulfed the entire building in no time.

Bilal Ahmad, a resident, said the fire reduced the eight-room house to ashes within hours. He said the inmates remained safe.

Jandol Khan, the house owner, said his sons had built the house with their blood and sweat while working at the coal mines, but fire reduced it to ashes within two hours.

He demanded of the Provincial Disaster Management Authority and the deputy commissioner to extend financial assistance to him to rebuild the house and also make temporary arrangements for sheltering his family.

It was the fourth incident in Shangla in a week with elders attributing them to dry weather and strong winds.

ROAD RECONSTRUCTION: The welfare committee of Puran tehsil here on Friday demanded of the local elected representatives to fulfill their election promise of reconstructing the Kalil Kandaw and Gokand roads.

The demand was made during a meeting held in Aloch area chaired by Puran Islahi Committee’s chairman Noor Mohammad. Other members, including Amir Ayaz, Bakht Baidar, Javid Ali, Bakht Karam, Khalid Khan and Rehmanullah were also present.

On the occasion, Noor Mohammad said both the roads were in dilapidated condition, causing problems to commuters and transporters. He said patients were particularly troubled while being shifted to hospitals. He regretted that the local lawmakers had promised that work on the roads would be started soon, but to no avail.

The meeting unanimously passed a resolution demanding of federal minister Eng Amir Muqam and lawmakers Ibadullah Khan and Abdul Munim to order reconstruction of both the roads as soon as possible.

Published in Dawn, February 8th, 2025