SWABI: Rs390.5 million budget of the Swabi tehsil council was passed here on Thursday. The budget was presented by tehsil nazim Wahid Shah in the council session.

This was the first budget after the rivalry erupted last year during the budget session which led to no-confidence motion and suspension of construction work on different projects.

The budget session was presided over by convener Gohar Rehman and members of both the treasury and opposition benches participated in the session.

Mr Shah said that the tehsil government had allocated Rs5 million for development work and Rs186.5 million for non-development work. He said that a major chunk of the budget would go to salaries of the public sector employees. He said that construction of the streets and various routes would continue to facilitate the people.

Later, the nazim told mediapersons that the tense relations among members of the house could harm the development works. He asked the councillors to shun differences and focus on welfare of the people.

Meanwhile, police arrested 35 suspects in a search operation in Gadoon Amazai mountainous belt on Thursday.

NIGHT CRICKET: Night cricket tournaments are getting popular among the youth here in the district.

At present, one such tournament is underway in Jaal Ground and another one in Topi city. The tournament in Jaal Ground is being organised by Haidar Colony Cricket Club and teams from across the district and nearby areas of the periphery districts, including Haripur, are taking part in it.

The organisers said that about 60 teams were taking part in the tournament and each team had deposited Rs4,000 as entry fee which was being spent on smooth power supply, floodlights and other arrangements.

The tournament was expected to continue for about a month. A large number of cricket lovers also visit Jaal Ground every night for watching the young players in action. “I came daily along with my friends to watch matches and stay at the ground even after midnight,” said Haseeb Ahmad.

The youngsters said that the tournament had provided them with an opportunity to display their skills and learn from senior players.

Published in Dawn, September 28th, 2018