April 22, 2002	Monday	Safar 8, 1423

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window).

HANGU, April 21: Around 700 workers of Hangu district, who have been rendered jobless owing to the closure of flour mills in the province for the last two years, have erected banners inscribed with protest slogans outside the mills.

As the dispute between the flour mill owners and the provincial government is feared to take a bad turn, the employees have decided to launch a protest movement to press the government and the mill owners to resolve the issue.

The mill owners told Dawn that contrary to the government’s commitment to them that wheat would be supplied to the mills at the rate of Punjab, they were getting wheat at a much higher rate.

They said the prices of utilities like gas, electricity, diesel, petrol and kerosene oil had increased manifold but the government was not willing to give them any incentives. The situation has forced the mill owners to close their units, which resulted in a large number of employees’ joblessness.

They demanded of the government to supply wheat to the mills at the rate of Punjab.

WATER SCARCITY: The residents of Hangu city took out a protest procession over the shortage of potable water in different parts of the district.

They were chanting slogans against the district government and the public representatives for their failure to solve the problem, which is getting worse.

The protesters gave a three-day deadline to the district government to solve the water problem, failing which they would launch a protest movement.

The people have been facing a lot of problems due to the shortage of water for the last many years but no government authority had taken it seriously.

The protesters staged a sit-in in front of the municipal committee and warned the district government that they would not end the protest unless the issue was resolved.

They said the residents would block roads and court arrest in protest to press their demand.

They said the Peshawar Corps Commander, Lt-Gen Ali Jan Mohammad Orakzai, had inaugurated a tubewell near the girls college, but it could not be made operational even after its completion. They also demanded inquiry into the matter and asked the government to take a strict action against the employees’ indifference towards the public grievances.

TEXTBOOKS’ SHORTAGE: School students and their parents are facing an awkward situation as the NWFP Textbook Board authorities have failed to ensure the timely availability of new course books in the market.

They blamed the non-availability of textbooks on the Board officials’ indifference, resulting in the wastage of precious time of the students.

The situation has further exacerbated as the so-called education experts make frequent changes in the course books without taking the responsibility of making the books available in the market in time.

This has forced the students to make photocopies of the course books which is unaffordable for the students hailing from poor families.

Social circles in the district demanded action against the board authorities for making changes in the course books for vested interest.

They also demanded of the government to direct the textbook board bosses against making omission and alteration in the course books every year. They demanded a uniform policy regarding textbook preparation and printing.