Abdullah Madani         
LOWER DIR - Hundreds of residents of village Bangai Talash on Monday warned of blocking Timergara-Peshawar GT Road if the village water supply scheme was not made functional till the start of Ramazan.
The threat was given during a protest demonstration in front of the DCO office at Balamabat and later at a news conference at the Timergara Press Club. The local elders Habib Muhammad Khattak, Haji Aziz Muhammad, Abdul Ghafar Khan, Muhammad Khan, Gul Khan, Shad Muhammad, Muhammad Ismail and Noor Zada addressed the protesters.         
The elders said that during the MMA government a water supply scheme had been completed with a total estimated cost of Rs 2.5 million, but despite the lapse of eight years, the scheme had not been started so far due to unknown reasons.
They complained that area women covered two to three kilometres distance to fetch drinking water. The villagers said that government water supply scheme was the only source of drinking water for them as wells and natural springs turned dried due to prolonged draught this year.
“The village is comprised of more than 200 houses and the population has no alternative source of drinking water,” Habib Muhammad said, adding that due to low voltage and frequent power outage they were unable to get water from their wells.
He warned to come again on roads if the problem was not solved before the start of Ramazan.
Meanwhile district coordination officer Dir Lower Mahmood Aslam Wazir while taking notice of the villagers’ protest ordered an enquiry about the matter. Talking to elders of the village the DCO assured them that the problem would be solved on priority basis.