M. Haleem Asad
TIMERGARA: Dozens of the lady health workers (LHWs) in Dir Lower on Wednesday refused to perform duties during the next anti-polio campaigns owing to security risks. The demand was made during an urgent meeting held at the Tehsil Head quarter Hospital Talash with MsShaistaRaza in the chair.
A total of 37 LHWs attended the meeting. The participants condemned brutal attacks on health workers in parts of the country and demanded of the government to provide foolproof security to health workers. Prominent among them were NusratBibi, MsShabnum, Mukhtiar Begum, Ms Mussarat, Pervin and MsFauzia. Meanwhile in a hand written application to the EDO health, copy of which is available with this reporter the 37 LHWs of the Dir Lower have said that owing to growing incidents of attacks on health workers they were unable to perform their duties in next polio drives.
 “We belong to poor families and work only to earn livelihood for them,” it said, adding that their lives were at risk and that was why they could not perform duties.
They said they would re-join duties when security situation became peaceful for them.
They demanded of the government to provide them security, increase their per-dium to Rs 1000 instead of Rs 225, compensate their families during injuries and provide plots and monthly scholarship to the victim families which had lost lives.
Meanwhile a responsible officer of the health department requesting not to be named told on contact that neither had they received any written application of the LHWs nor any of them had publically refused to perform their duties in next polio campaigns.
He said that all arrangements had been finalized for the drive date of which could not be made public due to security reasons.
PTI DIFFERENCES: The Pakistan TehrekInsaf Maidan chapter divided into two groups as one of them rejected recent party election held in the area.
Talking to local journalists here on Wednesday Malik Muhammad Rashid advocate termed the party election held for office bearers of Maidan as fake and said they had rejected it. He said workers had also sent written observations to the PTI provincial chief election commissioner Qazi Anwar in that regard.
He said that local organizers had taken signatures of party workers on the name of reconciliation but later showed it as willingness of workers to elect party office bearers for Maidan Dir Lower. The PTI activist demanded of party leadership to re-organize party in Dir Lower so that workers could be taken into confidence.
SECURITY GUARD:  Two poor security guards belonging to Timergara on Wednesday demanded of the Managing Director Mobilink Towers to release their monthly salaries.
Talking to local journalists RediGul and Muhammad Karam of the Timergara Mobilink tower No. 1349 said that company tower was up-rooted in July 2010 when flash floods devastated lands in Timergara.
They said the company paid them up to April, 2012. They said they had not been paid for the last eight months. They said they regularly performed their duties as guards though the tower was lying up-rooted in water of the river Panjkora. They said that due to stoppage of salaries they were finding it difficult to afford their families. They demanded of the higher authorities of the Mobilink to release their salaries or left the tower from the site so that they could get freedom of guarding it.