SHEIKHUPURA: Around 500 lady health workers held a protest rally against the apathy of the health department and later staged a sit-in in front of the district coordination officer for about two hours here on Monday.

LHW leaders Razia Bibi and Jahanara told reporters that the health department did not comply with the orders of the apex court regarding the regularization of their services.

They said the department had withheld their salaries for four months and they were finding it hard to run their kitchen.

They said even the dengue and polio campaigns stipends were not paid to them, alleging that all these allowances were embezzled by high-ranked officials of the health department.

They announced boycotting the dengue and polio drives in future unless their services were regularized and salaries and stipends released.

The DCO was not available in his office to get his version.

TWO INJURED: Two school students sustained serious injuries when a helium gas cylinder exploded on Aziz Bhatti Road on Monday.

Reports said that injured Ahmad and Baber were shifted to the local DHQ Hospital. The balloon vendor managed to escape from the scene.

A-Division police have started investigation.

LOOTED: Four robbers, including a woman, in police uniform looted the house of retired government employee in Madina Colony in Mananwala, some 35kms from here, on Monday.

Reports said that armed robbers held the family members hostage, collected cash and jewellery worth hundreds of thousands of rupees and fled. The area people chased the fleeing robbers and caught the woman robber and handed her over to the police.

Manawala police are looking into the matter.

Published in Dawn, September 16th , 2014