SWABI: Leaders and workers of All Government Employees Coordination Council blocked the Swabi-Jehangira road to traffic here on Wednesday despite calls from police not to do so.

On their way to join the protest in Islamabad, the employees gathered at Swabi interchange and Swabi-Peshawar motorway and blocked the road to traffic for about half an hour and chanted slogans against the government for its failure to increase their pay.

They said the parliamentarians had increased their own perks and privileges, but ignored the poor employees in this regard.

The police asked the protesters not to block the road, but they were not ready to obey them. The road was opened after half an hour when the protesters departed for Islamabad.

EXPIRED DRINKS: District food department officials discarded a big quantity of substandard and expired soft drinks and other commodities here on Wednesday.

The food officials accompanied by a police party visited various markets in Swabi and checked essential food items. They collected substandard and expired soft drinks and other food items from the markets and destroyed the same in the presence of people.

The officials said that the action would continue against those selling substandard food items.

Meanwhile, unidentified thieves broke locks of a cattle pen in Jalbai village and took away two cows of a poor farmer, Saib Rehman. The farmer has appealed to the local police to help him in recovering his cows.

Published in Dawn, February 11th, 2021