Encroached land: Health employees fear damage to records

Claim lawyers had forcibly occupied land which includes record room, workshop

PESHAWAR: Health officials fear that records of thousands of patients and documents dating back to the pre-partition era could be damaged after some members of the legal fraternity allegedly forcibly occupied a section of the health directorate.

According to officials of the health directorate, some lawyers had allegedly encroached on some property of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Director General Health and occupied land used for parking the directorate’s vehicles. The usurped area also includes a workshop for vehicle maintenance, a mosque and record rooms.

The directorate officials stated that the lawyers allegedly brought with them construction material and began constructing their ‘chambers.’

When the issue was brought to the notice of the health department, officials built a wall overnight to stop further encroachment.

A senior health directorate official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity since they were not entitled to speak to the media, said that last week, the lawyers demolished their protective wall and set up small cabins.

The official further added that since there were no security barriers, people could move freely through the directorate’s records, which could be damaged or even lost.

Activities at the directorate have also come to a standstill, ultimately causing immense problems at health departments at the district level.

K-P Health Director General (DG) Ayub Roz said that they had raised the issue with the relevant quarters.

Roz stated that several health departments at the district level have suffered since the directorate’s employees have gone on a boycott. He added that the health directorate’s employees fear that their records would be misplaced.

“We want a wall to be built, at least to secure the records, since people are trespassing,” Roz told The Express Tribune adding that the issue was being discussed at the chief secretary level and hoped the issue will be resolved soon.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 20^th, 2018.