Demolition of hotel in Swabi triggers controversy

SWABI: Mohammad Younas, the naib nazim of the Topi tehsil, and owners of a demolished hotel said here on Sunday that the district administration didn’t issue any notice before razing the hotel. 

Speaking at a press conference along with Malik Abdur Rahim, Dil Nawaz Khan, Malik Muhammad Nawaz Khan, Adil Nawaz, Mohammad Younas, belonging to Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), said that a case to decide the ownership of the hotel property was being heard in the court of law.

However, he said the district administration demolished the hotel on Friday. Officials said that the piece of land belonged to the Ghazi-Barotha Hydropower Project and it was handed over to the Wapda authorities. The hotel was built at the edge of the Indus River, an eye-catching site, downstream of Tarbela Dam.

It was learnt that about 45 people, who worked at the hotel, were rendered jobless.Mohammad Younas criticised the district administration for the action and rejected the claim that land on which the hotel was built belonged to Ghazi-Barotha Hydropower Project.

He said the officials of the Ghazi-Barotha Hydropower Project were using a lame excuse. He said that four owners of the hotel were arrested. “I am going to record a statement against the officials in the court,” he said.

The owners of the hotel said that they would have no option, but to block the Tarbela-Topi road if justice was not provided to them. “No employees or vehicle of the Wapda would be allowed to pass through the Topi-Tarbela road if this issue was not resolved amicably,” one of the owners of the hotel warned.

They said that they had decided to file a writ petition against the officials of the Ghazi-Barotha Hydropower Project and district administration. They took the plea that the hotel site was not part of the Ghazi-Barotha Hydropower Project. Malik Abdur Rahim said 29 employees of the hotel were also arrested. “We would fight a legal battle for our land,” he said.

Malik Nawaz said: “I have 226 kanal of land in the area. The hotel was not part of Ghazi-Barotha dam.”Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner of Swabi Matiullah Khan told a press conference, that the district administration had taken legal action and it was the right of the owners to move the court of law.

He said the administration had acted on the request of the officials of the Ghazi-Barotha Hydropower Project.He said that several notices had been issued to the owners of the hotel to vacate the land.