KOHAT: The elders and civil society activists have appealed to the military authorities to make the rules lenient for issuing passes for entry into the cantonment for easy excess to the KDA teaching hospital, CMH and saving people’s time while travelling between the city and the KDA Town.

Talking to this correspondent on Monday, district councillor Matiullah Shah said the entrants were required to deposit identity card of a male member of the family at the checkpost, but they were required to leave the cantonment from the same point which inconvenienced the public.

He said ban on civilian vehicles into the cantonment was also causing great rush in the city and people had to take a long route of Junglekhel to reach their destinations in the city.

He said the strict restrictions imposed on civilians for using cantonment had become a serious public nuisance. He recalled that once the lawyers marched towards the checkpost on the entrance of the cantonment and surrounded it, after which, the officials intervened and special cards were issued to them, but the common people were not being allowed the facility. Javed Panji, president of Kohat lawyers association, said it was the constitutional right of the people to use and visit the place they wanted, therefore, unnecessary restrictions were unjustified.

BODY BUILDING CHAMPIONSHIP: An intra-district body building championship kicked off on Monday.

Adviser on education MPA Ziaullah Bangash, who was the chief guest, gave away trophies and cash to the players, including all Pakistan gold medalist Waseem Shah.

District sports officer Sikandar Shah was also present.

Mr Bangash said the government was working on promoting sports along with education in the province. He said it was top priority of the government to construct playgrounds in each union council.

He said a modern sports complex would be constructed in Kohat.

Meanwhile, MPA Ziaullah Bangash said the provincial government was appointing 4,000 teachers in the schools of the newly merged tribal districts.

Addressing inauguration ceremony of classrooms at a rural model primary school in Sherpao Colony, he said under new policy education department was being affiliated with the local government for better performance and strengthening of parent-teacher councils.

He said during last eight months the government had employed 17,000 new teachers and promoted 6,000. He said from now on there would be four teachers in every primary school.

Published in Dawn, March 26th, 2019