CHITRAL: The newly-created Upper Chitral district has yet to get the district offices of most departments and even there’s no district headquarters hospital to the misery of residents.

Former member of the district council Maulana Javed Hussain told Dawn that Upper Chitral’s problems were multiplying due to the administrative vacuum in different departments, which didn’t have offices in the new district.

He said the departments of health, public health engineering, agriculture, irrigation, food, planning and finance, forest, wildlife, fisheries, livestock, local government and rural development, social welfare, sports and technical education had yet to formally establish themselves in Upper Chitral.

Leaders criticise govt’s ‘apathy’ towards new district’s uplift

Mr Hussain said though the education and communication and works departments didn’t have adequate manpower and structure in the new district, their performance in a short span of time was remarkable.

He said Upper Chitral got the district officers of education (both male and female) lately.

“The residents approach the office in the district headquarters situated in Booni area to discuss their issues with officers for resolution,” he said.

The former councillor said the people were hesitant to go to Lower Chitral district for the resolution of their problems as the officials there told them to approach own district’s offices.

President of the PPP’s Upper Chitral chapter Amirullah Khan said the establishment of a district headquarters hospital in Upper Chitral was direly needed as the doctors referred most of the local patients and victims of mishaps to Lower Chitral district’s DHQ hospital for treatment.

He added that complications emerged in case of medicolegal cases.

Mr Amirullah said unfortunately, the current tehsil headquarters hospital in Booni area was in a deplorable condition as far as the building, availability of doctors, diagnostic facilities and ambulance service were concerned.

He lamented the ‘apathetic attitude’ of the provincial government towards the development of Upper Chitral district and said the government didn’t earmark a substantial amount of funds in the budget of the current fiscal year for the establishment of the district headquarters’ offices and provision of facilities.

Published in Dawn, September 1st, 2019