Lack of maintenance: No duty roster for road workers in K-P

Funds will be released for providing uniforms and tools for the road repair workers

PESHAWAR: More than 2,200 workers assigned for road maintenance across Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa are working without a proper attendance mechanism and duty schedule.

The issue came up at a recent meeting of the communication and works department.

According to the minutes of the Nov 16 meeting, the chairman and adviser to the chief minister on C&W affairs Akbar Ayub Khan was briefed about issues left unaddressed over the past many years.

The meeting was attended, among others, by C&W Secretary Muhammad Asif Khan, Chief Engineer Central Muhmmad Ayub Khan, Chief Engineer East Ijaz Ahmad Ansari, Superintending Engineer Headquarters North Ghulam Yazdani, Director of Planning and Development Shakir Habib and Executive Engineer Highways Division Aziz Khatak.

Documents obtained by The Express Tribune showed that a large number of these workers, known as ‘road repair men’, were working in offices and houses of both serving and retired government officers.

“The absence of road repair men is creating an embarrassing situation and road edges and kerbs and drains are not being maintained properly, creating problems for the public,” the minutes of the meeting quoted the chairman as saying.

Subsequently, official attending the meeting decided that no maintenance workers would be allowed to work for government officers and all such repair men and workers would be recalled to join their original duties.

“Salaries of those who fail to rejoin their duties should be withheld … Their services should be terminated after serving show-cause notices on them.”

Road inspectors were also asked to ensure proper attendance of such workers or else they would face strict disciplinary action.

The meeting agreed to prepare fresh lists of road porters that should be submitted with the office of the secretary C&W. “The lists must contain biographical data of the porters.”

Furthermore, it was decided that funds would be released for providing uniforms and tools for the road repair workers.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 4^th, 2016.