MANSEHRA: The village and neighbourhood council nazims from Oghi tehsil on Monday demanded the district`s status for Oghi tehsil of Mansehra district.

The demand was made through a resolution unanimously passed during the local bodies` convention held in Oghi here.

`The provincial government has declared districts the tehsils, including Kolai-Palas, which are smaller than Oghi, which is ironic, and therefore, our tehsil (Oghi) should be made a district without delay,` nazim of a village council Shaukat Hayat told participants before tabling a resolution for the purpose.

The event was attended by the nazims of village and neighbourhood councils of Oghi tehsil.

District president of the Nazmeen Ittehad Mohammad Fared and general secretary Basharat Ali, nazims Mian Ghulam and Mohammad Arif, and others alsoaddressedtheconvendon.Mr Hayat said the provincial government was conspiring to ruin the local government system in the province as it had reduced the local bodies` developmental budget 70 percent during the current and previous financial years.

`We`ve long been without nondevelopment budget and therefore, we`re going to close our of fices against it from Sept 20,` he said.

Nazim Mian Ghulam said Oghi`s only hospital was destroyed by the 2005 earthquake but it hadn`t been reconstructed yet to the misery of local residents.

Nazim Mohammad Fareed said the ofhces of al1194 village and neighbourhood councils would be closed from Sept 20 to protest reduction in development budget of local bodies and delay in the release of non-development budget to them during the last two years.

FUMIGATION ORDERED:Assistant director of the local government department Ziaur Rehman Jadoon has ordered the nazims of all 194 villages and neighbourhood councils in Mansehra district to ensure the anti-mosquito fumigation spray in their respective areas.

In separate letters issued to the nazims and secretaries of all Mansehra village and neighbourhood councils, Mr Jadoon said in light of the increasing incidence of the suspected dengue cases in the district, fumigation spray should be carried out in all union councils.

Around 100 suspected dengue cases have been reported in district so far which caused panic among people and largely rushing to hospitals.

District health officer Dr Shahzad Ali Khan told reporters here that health teams had been visiting all parts of Mansehra to carry out fumigation spray and destroy mosquito breeding grounds.HISTORIAN`S VISIT: Japanese historian and writer Dr Kimitoshi Moritani visited the Hazara University and delivered a lecture on the expedition of Alexander the great from Susa to Persepolis between 331 BC and 330 BC.

The archaeology department had organised the lecture, which was attended by the relevant teachers and students in large numbers.

Prof Moritani has been working on Alexander the great since 1990s and has written many books and articles on the conqueror`s worldwide expeditions.

Leading a delegation, he also met Vice-Chancellor of the university Dr Mohammad Idrees, who briefed him about academic and research activities of the university.

The VC said under the archaeology department, two museums had been established on campus, where ancient artifacts were preserved. Correspondent