Balakots Tehsil Municipal Administration (TMA) served notices to more than 100 owners of illegal residential and commercial structures that are constructed along the Kunhar River in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).
As per the sources, Tehsil Municipal Officer (TMO), Sardar Saqib stated that the notices have been given to those owners whose buildings are within the 200-feet area of the river.
We have served notices on such people who have built or are still building houses and shops along Kunhar River in its 200-feet area, the tehsil municipal officer told the media on Sunday.
He added that the Peshawar High Court (PHC) had banned constructions beside rivers and streams and that the department had already sent notices to the owners of the properties, advising them to voluntarily demolish those structures or face legal action.
TMO Saqib further said that the provincial government has also prohibited new constructions alongside rivers and streams following the recent flash floods that caused havoc across the province.
This decision of imposing a ban on the fresh construction alongside rivers and streams is also taken by the provincial government since the recent flash floods triggered huge devastation in the province, Saqib noted.
He informed the media that?the operation will start from Bararkot near Muzaffarabads border in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and end at Babusar Top. The floods in Balakot tehsil and other parts of the province have caused huge damage thus he asked encroachers to voluntarily demolish their buildings.
The recent flash floods had washed away hotels and commercial buildings in Balakot tehsil as in other parts of the province and encroachers should realize it and voluntarily demolish the structures built along the Kunhar River, the TMO added.
Moreover, TMAs team directed by Assistant Commissioner (AC), Basharat Bibi, smashed the National Highway Authoritys (NHA) toll plaza using a shovel excavator in Balakots Hasamabad area.