HYDERABAD, Sept 14: The provincial director-general of health services has sacked two field programme officers of the National Programme for Family Planning and Healthcare for concealing the fact that salaries were being paid in the name of 59 non-existant lady health workers in Larkana district.

The information came to the fore at the programme's district coordination workshop held here on Tuesday and presided over by the director-general, Dr Hussain Bux Memon. The programme coordinators from different districts of Sindh presented their reports in the workshop.

In the report of Larkana district, it was disclosed that 59 lady health workers existed only on the paper and that salaries in their name were being paid for several years.

Mr Memon terminated the services of field programme officers, Dr Ashok Kumar and Dr Mazhar Nizamani, for their criminal negligence and directed the district officers to submit a detailed report about ghost employees in their areas.

Meanwhile, the director-general visited the Rural Health Centre in Oderolal and met hepatitis patients and residents of the area. On a complaint about non-operational x-ray machine and laboratory equipment, he suspended x-ray technician Ghulam Shabbir Hingoro and issued a show-cause notice to the medical superintendent of the centre.