MANSEHRA: The committee constituted by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak to oversee the New Balakot City housing project has finalised names of 300 survivor families for allotment letters of plots.

`We are going to start giving away allotment letters of plots measuring seven marlas to 300 families, who were settled in red zone Balakot after the 2005 devastating earthquake, Mazhar Ali Qasim, the focal person of the committee, told mediapersons after a meeting of the 11-member body in Balakot on Sunday.

`Allotment of sevenmarla plots will be completed within a week, after which the second phase of allotment of 10-marla plots will begin,` he said.

He said the quake survivor families living in makeshift houses were eagerly waiting for possession of the allotted plots.

Mr Qasim appreciated the role of government, district administration and Earthquake Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Authority in finalising lists of deserving f amilies.

On the occasion, nazims of neighbourhood councils, Balakot and Garlat, Asad Qazafi and Riaz Hussain, warned that those creating hurdles in smooth allotment of plots to over 4,000 survivor families would not succeed in their design.

JIRGA OPPOSES DELIMITATION: A local jirga on Sunday warned the election commission to do away with the proposed delimitation of Tanawal otherwise they would launch astreet agitation.

The jirga largely attended by people and notables from Tanawal unanimously demanded withdrawal of proposed changes to Tanawal.

`Such conspiracies are being hatched to divide centuries-old Tanawal, Habibur Rehman Tanoli, the former provincial minister, told the jirga.

He said five of 10 union councils of Tanawal were excludedfromitandmerged into Oghi, which was unacceptable to them.

`We will not allow government to divide our logically set boundaries,` Mr Tanoli vowed.

On the occasion, former tehsil naib nazim Basheeruddin Tanoli said the government should reconsider delimitation of Tanawal as five of its union councils were given to Oghi/ Agror.

`We will move the apex court besides coming onto the streets against the bifurcation,` he warned.

NEW DISTRICT: MPA Zargul Khan, political adviser to chief minister, has said Pakistan Tehreek-iInsaf-led provincial government will give Tanawal the status of a district in the first week of next month.

`We are finalising documents to give Tanawal the status of a district before April 4,` Mr Khan told reporters in Lassan Nawab on Sunday.

Earlier, he administered oath to newly-elected of ficebearers of Lassan Nawab Press Club.

Mr Khan, who is also PTI Hazara president, said people of Tanawal had long been struggling for Tanawal district and time was up for giving them their right.