Balakot residents raise multiple issues at public forum

MANSEHRA: The people of Balakot on Thursday raised at an open forum the various issues faced by them since long as the provincial and federal governments had failed to have them resolved.

The forum was arranged in Balakot, the town, which was completely destroyed in a devastating earthquake on 8 October 2005.

They decried the delay in the development of Rs13 billion new Balakot City Housing Project, appointment of teachers and other staff at the Girls Degree College, lack of potable water supply and other issues at the forum.

“The government has acquired our agriculture land for the 880 megawatt Suki Kinari Hydropower Project in the Kaghan Valley but the company executing this mega energy project has not honoured its agreement with locals,” Mian Ashraf, a local leader of Jamaat-i-Islami, said.

He said the Hazara commissioner had committed with them that they would be allotted plots at the New Balakot City but over 14 years had passed since the ground-breaking of that mega housing project but to no avail.

“Our Tehsil headquarters hospital, which was grounded in the October 8, 2005 earthquake couldn’t be reconstructed as yet, depriving locals of healthcare services,” complained another resident.

Deputy Commissioner Qasim Ali Khan told the open forum he had been working to remove the hurdles in the way of the New Balakot City Housing Project and the time was not far off when you would receive allotment letters of your plots.

He assured the people that issues related to Suki Kinari Dam were almost settled. The official assured the people that all the issues raised by them would be settled soon.