Jeep drivers threaten to block road in Mansehra

MANSEHRA: The jeep drivers on Monday threatened to block Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad road if the district administration did not pay them outstanding dues within a week time. “The officials of district government had hired our jeeps for Rs5,000 per day for election duty in PK-30 constituency last month but they are yet to pay our rents,” Mohammad Asif, president of Jeep Drivers Association told a protest gathering in Balakot. The jeep drivers, who gathered in Balakot, raised slogans in support of their demands. “The district administration has hired around 100 jeeps on Rs5,000 per day for six days each in the by-election and we have been visiting the office of assistant commissioner in Balakot to get our payments but no to avail,” he said. He said that jeeps were hired by the administration to take polling staff and election material to polling stations in mountainous parts of the constituency in the by-election held on February 26. He said that if rent of jeep was not cleared within a week time then they would park their jeeps on MNJ road blocking it to all sorts of traffic for an indefinite time.