LOWER DIR: Doctors at the District Headquarters Hospital, Timergara, on Friday boycotted duties at the out-patient department and also staged a rally outside the surgical block, demanding of the government to appoint principal and chief executive to the Timergara Medical College.

The call for the strike was given by the Young Doctors Association.

The doctors also threatened to extend the duration of boycott from Monday if their demands were not met.

Addressing the protesting doctors, YDA Lower Dir president Dr Najeebullah and others also demanded strict action against the officials involved in alleged irregularities in Sehat Insaf Card programme as per the recommendations of a probe committee.

They also sought investigation into delay in opening of health card tender and supply of substandard medicines and surgical equipment to the hospital. They also demanded making functional the hospital’s intensive care unit.

They said equipment handed over to the hospital by MSF, an international NGO, had gone missing and demanded an inquiry into it.

VISIT: Malakand division commissioner Amjad Ali Khan on Friday directed Lower Dir deputy commissioner Mohammad Arif Khan to issue a circular, binding the schools to hold Bazm-i-Adab programme each month.

He issued the directives during a visit to government high school, Shawa, on Friday.

On the occasion, the commissioner awarded the students cash prizes for showing the best performances in the academic field.

He also directed the accompanying DC to bind the educational institutions to conduct monthly tests of students regularly.

He directed the school’s administration to repair windows and floors of classrooms. He also directed shifting of the electric poles lying on the school’s premises to another place.

Published in Dawn, September 14th, 2024