Illegal occupation: Staff demand police levies vacate hospital residences

Protesters say a ward has also been taken over by levies personnel.

WARHI:

Staff at the District Headquarters Hospital (DHQ), Upper Dir staged a protest against the illegal allotment of their residences to security forces.

Protesting against the district government and levies personnel, demonstrators said two bungalows that are allocated to doctors had been occupied by levies forces.

They added that one bungalow has been occupied by District Regional Officer (DRO) Muhammad Irshad and another by Police Superintendent Ihsanullah for the past year.

They claimed to have been threatened and given a deadline to vacate three more residences.

Dr Laiq Zada, a doctor at DHQ, said that the levies personnel have also occupied a hospital ward that was used to treat patients after surgery. “Around eight levy and six police personnel now live in that ward,” he said.

Dr Zada added that now patients have to be accommodated in other wards after surgery. He also said that the hospital was already short of doctors and only six out of 20 vacancies had been filled. “No one wants to come here because of the deteriorating law and order situation in the district,” he said, adding that the few doctors working at the hospital were thinking of leaving their jobs as well because of the difficult circumstances.

Protesters said that they had been told by levies personnel that the wards had been occupied for security reasons.

During the protest, hospital staff said that a number of people claiming to be part of a ‘monitoring committee’ came to the premises daily and interfered in hospital affairs, adding that the act was illegal. They demanded that the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government put a stop to this and government officials get their houses vacated. Protesters said that if their demands are not addressed within three days, a district-wide protest would be launched.

A wide range of medical staff were present at the protest, including Paramedical Staff Association President Haji Sher Muhammad, Male Nurse Association President Ghulam Qadir and Class IV Association President Rahatullah.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Upper Dir DCO Muhammad Ali Shah said that the levies personnel were guarding the hospital. He said he was unaware about government officials occupying doctors’ bungalows. “Levies and police personnel have been residing in the hospital for the past 20 years,” the DCO said, adding that they were performing their duty to protect patients and staff.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 5^th, 2012.