CHITRAL: The women teachers of non-formal basic education schools in different union councils of Chitral held a protest meeting and also warned of marching on Islamabad if their withheld salaries of last eight months were not paid without delay.

Speaking on the occasion, the teachers said established in 1999, there were 93 schools of non-formal basic education in the district for which free classrooms were provided by the teachers in their house at a meager salary of Rs8,000 per month.

They said they had immensely contributed to the promotion of literacy rate in the district and enrolled the children in their schools who had left the formal schooling due to one reason or the other.

The teachers said the strength of their students ranged from 30 to 54 in different schools with a total of over 4,000 who belonged to the highly marginalised segments of society and had no capacity to be admitted to formal schools.

Thus we saved the future of such a large number of students every year by keeping them enrolled in our non-formal schools in lieu of a petty salary, and it is sheer injustice with us that we have not been paid for last eight months, the teachers deplored.

ROAD ACCIDENT: A young electrical engineer namely Azharuddin of Zait village of upper Chitral died on Monday when a tree fell on him in Green Lusht village on the Chitral-Booni road. The tree was being cut.

Chitral police said Abdur Rab, who was cutting the tree, had been arrested.

Meanwhile, six members of a family sustained injuries when a gas cylinder burst inside a kitchen in Garam Chashma.

The injured, including four women, were admitted to hospital.

SNOWFALL: Upper parts of Chitral, including Lowari, have received the first snowfall of the season, dipping temperature and sending cold waves across the valley.

The Lowari Pass in the south and Shandur Pass in the northeast connecting the district with rest of the country also received light snow which disturbed the flow of vehicular traffic.

The apple orchards in the northernmost villages of Rech, Khot, Ujnu, Melp, Terich, Yarkhoon and the Karimabad valley were affected by the snow.

The people were seen wearing woolies to keep themselves from the biting cold.

Published in Dawn, November 13th, 2018