KARAK: The local residents on Thursday protested acute water shortage flaying the public health engineering department for failing to restore a water scheme damaged and washed away by flash floods last year.

The protesters, who belonged to Rehmatabad, Sikot, Tordhand and Sorti Kalay areas, gathered in Ahmadwala area here to demonstrate.

They claimed that more than 30,000 people of the region had got drinking water from the Kamangar scheme for 20 years but the last year’s flash floods washed away the main pipeline in some areas and damaged it others causing acute shortages.

The protesters said the damaged pipeline was causing a large quality of water to go to waste in Belanzeen seasonal water channel. They said their repeated requests to the public health engineering department for repairing or replacing the pipeline had fallen on deaf ears.

The protesters said they had to fetch water from remote areas in the hot summer season or purchase it for domestic use.

They warned that they would spread their protest across the district if smooth water supply wasn’t ensured to their areas.

STAFF SHORTAGE: The residents of Ahmadabad area here complained that the local hospital didn’t have necessary facilities and doctors to their misery.

Leading local elders and social activists, Said Khan and Asghar Khan told reporters here on Thursday that the hospital was short of medical specialists, especially women.

They said the hospital’s staff struggled to cater to the needs of more than 20,000 local residents.

The people demanded the health department address the shortage of staff at the hospital without delay especially by appointing medical specialists, including women, to their relief. They also said all basic facilities and equipment should be provided to the hospital to ensure the provision of the best possible services to the visitors.

Published in Dawn, June 8th, 2018