CHITRAL: The newly-created Upper Chitral district is yet to be made fully functional as its residents and officials still have to go to Lower Chitral in connection with their works in different government departments.

After bifurcation of Chitral the deputy commissioner of the new district was posted in March 2019, but so far no department except education could be set up there.

A government official said that in the absence of district accounts office in Upper Chitral, all the government offices are still dependent on the office in Lower Chitral. As such, the routine work in the upper part is greatly affected, creating problems for the people.

The residents complained that the health department was yet to be made functional, while district health officer of Lower Chitral had not visited the new district for the last four months.

They feared that the anti-polio drive might be affected in the absence of proper management as the campaign was still being controlled from Lower Chitral while it needed a district polio eradication committee.

Other departments like forest, wildlife, excise and taxation, social welfare, irrigation, public health engineering, livestock and food and agricultural also have no offices in the new district.

The residents also have to travel to Lower Chitral for obtaining arms, driving and hunting licences.

The post of district police officer has also not been sanctioned as yet while stationing of required strength of the force is needed for setting up of police lines.

The district judiciary is also to be established though Upper Chitral has recently been declared as sessions division.

The Chitral Levies, functioning with deputy commissioner as its ex-officio commandant, also awaits bifurcation as of its total 494 personnel only 66 are posted in Upper Chitral. An official told this correspondent that based on population 40 per cent personnel of the force had been proposed to be allocated to it.

PROTEST: The protest of people of Drosh town demanding posting of lady doctors in the tehsil headquarters hospital entered the third day here on Tuesday. The posts are lying vacant for the last two years.

The protesters, led by JUI-F activist Qari Jamal Abdul Nasir, staged a sit-in in front of the hospital for hours after passing through different bazaars of the town.

They warned that they would shut the hospital if the government did not appoint lady doctors within a week.

Published in Dawn, January 2nd, 2020