ISLAMABAD, April 13: About 500 residents of Balakot will stage a protest demonstration against the Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (Erra) in front of the Parliament House on Monday for withholding compensation.

According to the residents of Balakot, they will hold the protest demonstration against the Erra for “depriving over 2,000 victims of the October 2005 earthquake of the alternative residential plots as well as the compensation money, given by the national and international donors”.

Talking to Dawn from Balakot, a representative of the group of city’s residents said the Erra had promised to deliver the last instalment of Rs75,000 to the quake victims, but it had not been so far paid.

Besides compensation money, he said the Erra had told the entire central Balakot population to get ready for shifting to New Balakot

City being built at Bakrial but, he added, now it was backtracking from its pledges.— Staff Reporter