Hailstorm-hit farmers in stormy mood

TIMERGARA, March 28: Farmers of Noorakhel area in Talash Valley have threatened they would block the Timergara-Peshawar Road if the government did not compensate them for the tomato and maize crops they lost to a hailstorm last October. "Floods and torrential rains in July and August had already broken our backs when the hailstorm struck and took away whatever means of livelihood were left with us," their representatives Mohammad Ibrahim, Rahmanullah, Salim Khan and Abdul Rashid told journalists on Monday. "We are struggling for survival and need help," they added. They said the farming community depended entirely on marketing its produce of vegetables to the districts in the low lands. "But natural disasters like floods, rains and hailstorms affected the local farmers badly. Despite our repeated demands the government has done nothing so far in this regard," they said. The farmers, they said, had nothing in hand to cope with the financial worries as they were unable to cultivate vegetables this year. They said that Lower Dir administration conducted survey of the area some four months ago and promised the farmers to compensate them, but to no avail. "We also need rehabilitation. The government should take practical steps in this regard," they added. The farmers demanded of the government to pay compensation to them within a month, otherwise they would have no option but to come on roads. TEXTBOOKS: The elementary and secondary education department started distribution of free textbooks among the students of government-run schools here on Monday. The textbooks for grade I to grade V worth million of rupees were handed over to in-charges of government primary schools in Talash, Adenzai, Maidan, Jandool and Timergara. EDO (Education) Hafiz Mohammad Ibrahim told this correspondent that distribution of books among students would take few days. He said that heads of middle and high schools in the district had been directed to collect textbooks from the office of EDO at Balambat. "New academic session will begin on April 8 and we are bound to complete the process of book distribution before it," he said. Waqif Khan, another official of education department, told Dawn that 180,000 students, both boys and girls, had been enrolled in the schools of the district. "There are 1250 state-run primary schools, 250 middle, 150 high and 22 higher secondary schools in the district where more than 18 million students are getting education," he added.