Plight of PTCL Colony residents

Published November 18, 2002

JHANG, Nov 17: The residents of PTCL Colony, Gojra Road, have been facing a number of problems.

They have appealed to the PTCL high-ups to intervene and redress their grievances.

They said that at least 10 houses of the colony have been lying unoccupied because of their bad condition due to poor maintenance.

There is no sewerage system in the colony. The boundary wall has collapsed, giving an easy access to the thieves. There have been several incidents of theft during the last six months.

The tubewell has been out of order since long, causing great hardships for the residents who bring water from nearby colonies.

The colony has 24 houses — eight are of E, two of F and 14 of G types — which are allotted to the employees according to their pay scale.

The corporation rules say that only regular employees of grade I to VIII are entitled to the allotment of G type house, on payment of between Rs900 to Rs1,200 per month rent.

Similarly, employees of grade IX to XI are entitled to F type houses for which they are charged Rs1,500 per month. Employees above grade XI are allotted E type houses at a monthly rent of Rs2,500.

But most houses in the colony has been occupied either by outsiders or by daily wagers, though allotments had been made to bona fide employees.

For example, house No E 2 (old) — allotted to Bashir Ahmad, a Naib Qasid in the office of account officer telephone revenue — has been occupied by Asghar Ali, a daily wager, who is the brother-in-law of assistant general manager (finance) Wahid Baksh Somroo.

House No E 2 (new) — allotted to Allah Ditta, lineman — has been occupied by Akbar Ali, a clerk in the excise and taxation department, who is a brother of SDO development Farooq Miew.

House No G II has been occupied by Muhammad Akram, a daily wager, who is a brother-in-law of SDO Farooq Miew; house No G 12 has been occupied by SDO Farooq Miew who is using it as a guest house.

Interestingly, all these houses have been shown vacant in the record.

Some months ago, a resident of the colony had faxed an application to the general manager of the Faisalabad Telecommunication Region, stating all circumstances.

The GM sent an inspection team to conduct an inquiry. Muhammad Aslam, a junior clerk who is an illegal occupant, abused the members of the inspection team besides the applicant. He also threatened them of dire consequences and managed to thwart the proceedings of the inquiry.

Opinion

Editorial

A difficult story
Updated 12 Jun, 2026

A difficult story

Unless productivity becomes the dominant target of economic policy, Pakistan will continue to oscillate between crises and fragile recovery.
Rough waters
12 Jun, 2026

Rough waters

AMONGST the key potential triggers for fresh conflict in South Asia is water. The Indian state is behaving in an...
Politicised football
12 Jun, 2026

Politicised football

ALMOST three-and-half years since Lionel Messi led Argentina to FIFA World Cup glory, the latest edition of...
GB polls’ aftermath
Updated 11 Jun, 2026

GB polls’ aftermath

The new administration must address the region’s issues proactively.
Peace in retreat
11 Jun, 2026

Peace in retreat

THE ceasefire announced in April was supposed to create space for negotiations. Instead, it has been repeatedly...
A few good men
11 Jun, 2026

A few good men

IT was a brave move, no doubt. This Tuesday, in the land of the Afghan Taliban, a few good men decided to take a...