Traders demand relief for losses

BUNER:

Hundreds of traders from Pir Baba Pachaklay Bazaar, whose shops were damaged by recent floods, held a grand protest Jirga against the district administration over delays in compensation payments. The traders accused officials of using delaying tactics in disbursing relief cheques promised to the flood-affected shopkeepers.

The Jirga, attended by a large number of traders, warned that if payments were not initiated within three days, they would launch an indefinite protest movement, for which the district administration would be held responsible.

Speaking at the gathering, Pir Baba Pachaklay Traders Association President Haji Syed Wahid, along with Sarfaraz Khan, Irfan Ali, Dr Fida Hussain, and minority community leader Sardar Sant Singh, said that 52 days had passed since the floods, yet the affected shopkeepers had not received the promised compensation of Rs500,000 each.

They added that a few cheques were issued but could not be cashed due to insufficient bank funds. Despite repeated surveys, the administration had failed to complete the process. The speakers accused government officials of including undeserving people in the survey lists while genuine victims continued to suffer.