In exchange: Irate land owners demand compensation

Khalid Mehmood criticises K-P govt for ignoring suffering of people

MINGORA: Dozens of people staged a protest in front of the Saidu Teaching Hospital (STH) on Saturday after their demand for compensation in exchange for land taken away from them fell on deaf ears.

The protesters chanted slogans and carried placards inscribed with words against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) and its allies in the K-P government.

Addressing the protesters, tehsil-councillor Dr Khalid Mehmood said, “The PTI-led provincial government is paying no heed to the demands of the public for the payment of compensation in return for the land grabbed from them.” He added that some land owners had to give their agricultural land, some had to vacate their houses and some were even forced by the government to withdraw their land’s ownership in favour of the proposed plan.

Khalid highlighted that the government back in 2003 initiated the expansion plan of STH and for that purpose it asked the people living in the surrounding area to give their land. Fourteen years have been passed and people have still not been given any compensation.

“It is so distressing to see that these families had to go through so much suffering. The government must listen to their demands and solve the issue,” he said.

Ahmad Ali, a member of the affected family, told The Express Tribune, “I was not willing to give my land to the government but they forced me to.” Ali said that he neither had home, nor any piece of land to construct a home for his children, he was left homeless.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 20^th, 2016.