KOHAT: The district administration has retrieved tracts of precious state land from illegal occupants in the ongoing operation against encroachments in Kohat.

Assistant commissioner, Kohat, Farrukh Atique reached the irrigation department’s land near Tanda Dam along with the tehsildar, police personnel and heavy machinery and demolished illegal houses and guava orchards over a big piece of government land. The land was retrieved from the occupants after 40 years.

Similarly, the AC also removed illegal houses and orchards at the KDA Town land which had been occupied for the last 25 years.

Earlier, the administration had removed encroachments on Bannu road, Hangu road, fruit market and in main bazaar. He warned the people not to occupy government land again otherwise strict legal action would be taken against them.

MAN DEPRIVED OF CASH: An unknown armed man on Thursday snatched a bag containing over Rs0.5 million from a salesman of a private cellular company at old bus stand, located in close proximity of Rescue 15 centre.

The police said that one Tayyab, a salesman of a cellular company, was selling phone cards and providing easy load facility in old bus stand when armed man pulled his bag.

On resistance, the armed man fired and injured Mr Tayyab and took his bag containing Rs0.5 million. Eyewitnesses said that police were standing in the bus stand, but did not chase the accused running away on foot.

Mr Tayyab was taken to hospital by volunteers. The city police have registered a case.

REPAIR OF BRIDGE URGED: The elders of 25 villages of Shahpur union council have demanded early repair of a bridge, which links the area with the Kohat city.

The residents of Shahpur, Tor Chappar and Tanda Dam areas also held a protest demonstration and blocked Bannu bypass on Thursday to demand reconstruction of the bridge besides health and education facilities in their villages.

However, police arrested a dozen of the protesters to open the road.

The elders, including Khyber Khan and others, later demanded release of the villagers and early repair of the bridge.