MANSEHRA: The families, whose land was acquired by authorities for the Dasu hydropower project in Upper Kohistan district, took to the streets on Friday, demanding an immediate release of payments under the Enhanced Self-Managed Relocation Package for themselves.

`Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has formed a committee to address the longstandingissues of over 500 families affected by the Diamer-Basha Dam. We also demand the formation of a similar committee without further delay,` Gul Badshah told protesters on the Karakoram Highway in the Dasu area.

The demonstrators, holding banners and placards and shouting slogans, marched on various roads before converging on the Karakoram Highway.

They demanded early resolution of their grievances by Wapda.

Mr Badshah said that although agreements had been signed with Wapda since 2016, several issues continued to be unresolved, causing severe hardships for the affected families.

`Pace of work on schools,healthcare facilities and roads under the Local Area Development Project is extremely slow, adding to our misery,` said elder Maulana Noor Nabi.

Later, the protesters held negotiations with Deputy Commissioner Upper Kohistan Tariq Ali Khan and WAPDA officials at Chuchang Colony.

Representatives of the Dasu Dam-hit people, including Mr Badshah and Maulana Noor Nabi, said they had been staging protests for the last six months, but their pleas had gone unheard.

`Around 500 families are still awaiting their Enhanced SelfManaged Relocation compensation of Rs3.5 million each,` Mr Nabi said.

`We demand the PrimeMinister to intervene and form a special committee to resolve our longstanding issues, as Wapda`s repeated promises have led to nothing,` he added.

The deputy commissioner assured the protesters that he would take up their grievances with Wapda for early resolution.

GUTTED: Several shops gutted as a large fire broke out in a sawmill in Balakot on Thursday night.

The blaze, whose cause was not immediately known, erupted near Madina Market and engulfed a large section of the commercial area, reducing shops and essential items to ashes.

Rescue 1122 teams, along with local residents, rushed to the site and, after a two-hour operation, extinguished thefire.

`If the fire had not been broughtunder controlintime,it could have spread to adjoining shops and caused even greater losses,` a witness told reporters.

Residents complained that the Rescue 1122 station located in Naran, far from the tehsil headquarters of Balakot, delayed timely responses to emergencies.

`The government has provided an out-of-order fire tender to the Balakot Tehsil Municipal Administration, which mostly remains without water,` a resident said.

He said the incident had once again highlighted the urgent need for functional firefighting equipment and emergency services in Balakot to prevent such disastersinthefuture.