LOWER DIR: Parents on Sunday demanded of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to launch BS classes in the government girls’ degree college, Balambat.

Talking to reporters here, they said over 1,000 girl students were availing BS classes at the postgraduate college for boys, Timergara, where over 4,000 male students were also enrolled.

The parents said mixed classes were against the local norms and traditions, and pointed out that the building of the government girls’ degree college, Balambat, had been constructed, but classes were yet to begin there.

They demanded of the higher education minister to appoint women teachers to the Balambat college so that BS classes could begin from next academic session.

DROWNS: A three-year-old girl drowned in a stream in Kandaro area in the jurisdiction of Balambat police station on Sunday.

A local elder fished out the body of Alia, daughter of Imran, and shifted her to the District Headquarters Hospital, Timergara.

Meanwhile, the Class-IV employees of government colleges on Sunday rejected the 10 per cent increase in salaries announced by the government in the budget, and demanded a 35 per cent increase.

Speaking to reporters, the Class-IV employees’ union president Mohammad Iqbal said lawmakers had got their salary and privileges increased by 200 per cent, and were also getting free electricity, gas and fuel.

He said the Class-IV employees had to afford utility bills, children fees and medical treatment of their family members in the paltry Rs30,000 per month. He said the employees were finding it difficult to run their kitchen due to record inflation.

TAXES REJECTED: The local jewellers’ association has announced to resist the anticipated move by the government to impose taxes in the Malakand division.

The announcement was made by the association’s district president Ziaullah during a news conference at the Timergara Press Club the other day.

He said jewellers had rejected the government’s decision to impose income tax and customs duties in Malakand because the region had been declared a tax-free zone under an agreement decades ago. He said the region had been kept deprived of basic facilities, advanced infrastructure and development.

He said majority of the people worked abroad, did farming and small businesses to make a living. He said main roads in the region were in a bad shape, while residents lacked cleaning drinking water facility.

Meanwhile, residents of Dinjarai village of Samarbagh complained staff and students of a girls’ school lacked drinking water.

Talking to journalists, Syed Mohammad, Yar Mohammad, Sadam Hussain and others said washrooms of the school were dysfunctional due to non-availability of water. They demanded of the executive engineer of the public health engineering department to take notice of the issue.

Published in Dawn, May 27th, 2024