CHARSADDA: The local leaders of various political parties, traders and transporters have threatened to launch a protest movement after Eidul Fitr against the slow pace of work on Charsadda-Tangi Road.

In a joint statement, they demanded of the government to complete construction of the road as soon as possible. They said that work on 22-kilometre Tangi-Charsadda Road was started about one year ago but it was still not completed.

They said that the contractors were not expediting work on the project worth Rs1.4 billion. The motorists, passengers and patients were suffering owing to snail’s pace work on the road. “The contractors get extra amount for sprinkling water on the under-construction road but instead of using the money for the purpose the amount goes to their pockets,” they alleged.

They said that in case of emergency, the 30-minute drive took several hours and most of the patients died before being taken to the district headquarters hospital.

Threaten to launch protest after Eid

The residents of the area urged the deputy commissioner to call the contractors and ask them to expedite work on the road.

The local leaders of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf including Jehangir Raza, Waheed Bacha and others said that workers of their party would take to streets if district administration didn’t taken action in that regard.

ROAD BLOCKED: The residents of Pir Qilla Koroona blocked the main Peshawar-Bajaur Road to protest electrocuting of a man when he was repairing an electricity transformer here on Tuesday.

Zulfiqar was busy in repairing the transformer near his house during loadshedding hours when all of a sudden the electricity was restored and he was electrocuted.

The protesters held Pesco responsibly for the incident and blocked the main road. They demanded registration of FIR against the SDO of Pesco.

Meanwhile, a young man drowned in the Swat River near Khyali.

According to officials, about 12 persons have drowned in the Swat and Kabul rivers in the district during the holy moth of Ramazan.

The district administration has imposed ban on swimming and bathing in the rivers.

Published in Dawn, July 23rd, 2014