CHITRAL: The members of district and tehsil councils from Yarkhoon and Mastuj wards in upper Chitral have demanded of the government to write off the small loans which people of the area had got from banks for various purposes.

Addressing a press conference here on Friday, district councillor Rahmat Wali and tehsil councillors Mohsin Hayat and Mir Sahib said that flash floods had inflicted a heavy loss on the residents of Yarkhoon and Mastuj.

They said that the prime minster had announced to waive off only the agricultural loans for the district, but the people of Yarkhoon and Mastuj would not be benefitted as they did not avail of the agricultural loans due to the complicated procedures of acquiring farm loans and the absence of a branch of agricultural bank there.

They said that majority of the farmers had obtained small loans of up to Rs10,000 from other banks for self-employment.

They said that the waiver would benefit thousands of people of Yarkhoon and Mastuj.