MANSEHRA: The district administration here on Tuesday imposed Section 4 of Land Acquisition Act, 1894 to acquire 6,302-kanal in Tanawal area of Mansehra for the establishment of an airport.

A notification was also issued, asking Civil Aviation Authority to complete survey of the airport and other formalities in that regard.

`The land is likely to be required by government at public expense for public purpose namely for the construction/establishment of airport at Mansehra,` said the notification issued by district administration. The land of eight villages including Lassan Nawaz, Dhairy, Palsala, Bandi Koragwal, Kund, Sawan Mera, Jisgran Bala and Jisgran Pain is being acquired for the establishment of airport.

The copies of said notification are also dispatched to Senior Member Board of Revenue Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Hazara Commissioner, director commercial and estate HQCAA Karachi, senior joint director (estate) of CAA, BBIAP, Islamabad, the manager of Government Printing Press Peshawar for publication of government gazette and teshisldar of Mansehra.

Sources said that survey was started last year after MNA Mohammad Safdar, the son-i-law of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, announced the airport project.

`If the airport is established here, it would provide air travelling services to people of entire Hazara as Mansehra is situated at the centre of the division and people from Kohistan, Torghar, Battagram and Abbottabad can easily reach there,` said an official.

Meanwhile, the landowners and residents of Tanawal have expressed pleasure over the planned establishment of airportin the area and asked the government to fix reasonable price of their land being acquired of the project.

MERGER: Quami Watan Party MPA Ibrar Tanoli has said that people will never allow the provincial government to merge Dara Shanya union council of Oghi tehsil into Torghar district.

`We would never allow government to make Dara Shanya union council of Mansehra a part of Torghar.

If government attempts any such move, it will be foiled by force,` he told journalists in Oghi on Tuesday.

The MPA said that people of Darband were already protesting against the proposal.

He said that provincial government should allocate funds for development of the union council instead of it merging with Torghar.

Mr Tanoli said that Torghar was yet to get complete status of a complete settled district as its residents still preferred jirga system to police or courts for settling their disputes.

The MPA said that all the union councils of his constituency including Dara Shanya were being given equal share in development funds. Correspondent