MANSEHRA: The civil defence directorate general has planned to induct over 6,000 female volunteers to reduce the women’s deaths in natural calamities.

“Social norms stop male volunteers from helping out women hit by calamities,” civil defence director Fahd Akram Khan Ghazi told volunteers during a function at the deputy commissioner’s offices here on Wednesday.

Mr Ghazi said the civil defence force was being re-organised across the province.

He said the process to induct over 30,000 volunteers was completed recently.

“Like other fields, we also want to engage female volunteers to help out women in natural disasters,” he said.

Official says initiative to help reduce women’s deaths in calamities

The director said the induction of female volunteers would help reduce the women’s deaths in calamities.

“We are also following another strategy meant to induct a volunteer from every household in the province and train them on volunteer work,” he said.

On the occasion, additional deputy commissioner Maqbool Hussain said the administration extended all-out support to civil defence volunteers, who had helped out the victims of the 2005 earthquake.

The volunteers demanded police-like training for themselves on how to handle natural calamities.

BOY DIES: A boy died on Wednesday after falling into an abandoned well in Upper Channia area.

The incident occurred as Shabbir Dar, 7, was playing with friends close to the well.

Meanwhile, assistant deputy commissioner Talat Fahad fined many petrol stations over adulteration and profiteering.

She also asked filling station owners to enforce the standard operating procedures on the premises to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

POWER THEFT: The residents have blamed power theft in Siren valley on the Peshawar Electric Supply Company.

They said the Pesco’s failure to check power theft had caused prolonged power cuts and issuance of inflated bills.

“We informed the Pesco sub-divisional officer and other staff about the large-scale power theft in the valley, but to no avail,” Jabori trader leader Abdul Wahid Khan told reporters on Wednesday.

Accompanied by a group of residents, Mr Abdul Wahid said power theft happened with the connivance of Pesco staff members.

He warned that if the Pesco didn’t crack down on power theft, the residents would agitate.

Published in Dawn, July 9th, 2020