Nowshera survivors threaten long march on capital

The flood affectees of district Nowshera have threatened to launch long march towards Islamabad in case the government failed in announcing a comprehensive rehabilitation and reconstruction package before the deadline of September 15. The residents of district Nowshera have launched a 'movement' for rehabilitation and reconstruction of the flood affected district, with Ikhtiar Wali Khan as its chairman.
Addressing a press conference here at Peshawar Press Club (PPC) on Wednesday, the 'chairman'of 'movement for rehabilitation and reconstruction of flood affected of Nowshera', Ikhtiar Wali said that the proposed 'package' comprises of payment of compensation for reconstruction of the destroyed houses in the flood affected district.
Other members of the 'movement' are vice chairman Jauhar Ali Jauhar, Amjad Ali, Tufail-ur-Rehman, Iftikhar Khan and Irfan Bhai. The proposed 'package' includes declaration of district Nowshera as calamity-hit district and loans obtained by the residents from commercial banks should be written off while the utility bills of electricity and natural gas should be waived for a period of two months and sales tax for a period of at least two years.
He warned that in case of failure of the government in accepting their demands, they would have no other option than launching a 'protest movement' and more than 0.1 million flood affectees would have to make a 'long march' on the federal capital. The next phase of the protest movement, he said, is presenting enmass arrest along with more than 0.2 million flood affected people and their children.
He said that floods had not only washed away schools in the district, but the school bags and uniforms have also been flooded away, and demanded an 'incentive package' for the students of both public and private sectors for a period of two years. He said that the livestock sector had also suffered heavy losses and demanded interest-free loans for all stakeholders of livestock and dairy businesses.
Ikhtiar said that business community also incurred heavy losses, and called for issuance of soft loans to them after carrying out an assessment of the losses for their redressal. Similarly, he said, farming was another potential sector, which has also been destroyed in the flood.
He said that they have no political objectives and the 'movement' is fully non-political, aimed at only the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the flood affected people of the district. He said that flood had destroyed 90 percent houses in Nowshera City and now it presents the look a ghost city. He vowed that the 'movement' would be taken to last end.