KOHAT: Rescue 1122 service was formally launched in Kohat with the handing over of emergency fleet on Thursday.

The function held at the tehsil municipal committee hall was presided over by MPA Ziaullah Bangash and attended by deputy commissioner Ilyas Khalid, tehsil nazim Malik Taimoor and area elders.

The DC handed over the fleet comprising ambulances, fire engines and water bowsers to the Rescue 1122 staff.

Mr Bangash said that the emergency service would be available round the clock in cases such as house collapse, fire, accident, delivery, heart attack, burnt injuries, earthquake, etc.

He advised the people to take advantage of the service, but avoid calling it unnecessarily. He said that Chief Minister Pervez Khattak during his recent visit had announced the service for Kohat.

The emergency service centres have also been opened in Gumbat, Shakardarra, KDA and Lachi.

APPOINTED: The secretaries to village councillors, tehsil municipal officers and assistant director local government have been appointed as public information officers (PIOs) under the right to information law.

Right to Information Commission’s chief commissioner Azmat Hanif Orakzai addressing a seminar at the district council hall said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa took the lead in implementing the Right to Information Act to bring good governance, self-accountability and transparency.

It was attended by PIOs, concillors and government officials.

Deputy commissioner Ilyas Khalid and district nazim Naseem Afridi assured the chief commissioner of their support in implementation of the law.

Mr Orakzai said that all officers were bound to reply to public queries within 20 days. He said that action would be taken against those denying information which could result in fine and imprisonment.

ENCROACHMENTS: The occupants removed encroachments from the irrigation department’s land in Jarma and adjacent areas voluntarily.

A statement issued here on Thursday said that the district administration had set a seven-day deadline to the tenants who had occupied irrigation property with a warning that after that it would be cleared forcibly.

However, the people removed their houses from the land voluntarily. Deputy commissioner Ilyas Khalid lauded the people for their cooperation.

Published in Dawn, January 19th, 2018