
Locals have resisted the provincial government’s decision of deputing the District Coordination Officer (DCO) and District Police Officer (DPO) to address the problems of the residents at Pattan Tehsil. They held a protest on Monday, blocking the Karakoram Highway for over two hours and suspending traffic on the Gilgit-Balistan Road.
The provincial government had asked the DCO and DPO Kohistan to set up bi-weekly camp offices at the Pattan Tehsil Headquarters to address the problems of the locals.
However, the residents of Dasu and Kundia tehsils opposed the decision, taking to the streets in agitation. The protest which started from Kameela Bazaar, later converted into a public gathering at the Dasu Headquarters.
The protestors said that Dasu had been the district headquarters since 1967 and was easily accessible to the residents of all four tehsils: Kundia, Palas, Dasu and Pattan. But the ANP-led provincial government was bent on dividing the people of three tehsils against one by deciding to shift the offices of district police and civil administration’s head to Pattan Tehsil.
They termed the decision “unjustifiable”, saying that if the government aimed at providing relief to the people, then it should give equal time to all four tehsils.
They said that the people of Palas and Kundia tehsils were facing more problems than Pattan so they must be given priority or the status of Dasu, while keeping the district headquarters unchanged.
They also demanded the government to declare Pattan and lower Kohistan as another district and resolve their problems once and for all. The protestors dispersed after two hours but threatened to stop the construction work on Dasu Dam if the decision was not taken back by Wednesday.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 10th, 2012.
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