MIRPURKHAS, Feb 22: The staff of the health department in Pithoro, Umerkot, Samaro and Kunri talukas are not attending their duties for a long time.

Talking to newsmen, Dr Rehana Saba Bajwa, the in charge of the women health project’s Mirpurkhas chapter, admitted that women staff in the four talukas remained absent from their duties.

She said she had informed higher authorities of the department in this regard.

She said due to absence of women staff, expectant mothers were deprived of proper health facilities.

The women health project was launched in Naushahro Feroze, Shikarpur, Badin and Mirpurkhas districts with financial support of the Asian Bank in 2000.

ANTI-POLIO DRIVE: A three-day anti-polio campaign will be launched in the district on March 4.

This was said by District Nazim Pir Shafqat Hussain Shah Jilani while presiding over a meeting of health department officers here on Saturday.

The meeting discussed arrangements being made for the campaign.

The district Nazim said it should be ensured that every child up to five years of age was administered polio drops.

The EDO, health, Dr Fazal Illahi Memon, said 393,324 children would be vaccinated against polio.

He said the district’s seven talukas had been divided into 32 zones and 1,059 mobile teams had been formed.

He said six rounds of polio drops had been completed in the district.

Dr Ashfaq Ahmad Khan, a representative of WHO, said Mirpurkhas had been declared a polio-free district.

ACCIDENT: A four-year-old boy, Kashu alias Dileep, was killed on Thursday after being hit by a coach (9785) at the Mirwah-Digri road.

The taluka police have registered a case against the driver of the coach, Ghulam Mustafa Jutt.