TMA Chitral workers protest non-payment of salaries

CHITRAL: The workers of the Tehsil Municipal Administration have been protesting for the last two days for the release of their salaries pending for the last five months.

On Tuesday, the protest entered its second day. The protesters have set up a protest camp at the office of the municipal administration. The protest has affected the cleanliness situation at Chitral city and the surrounding localities.

The protesters said that they had not received their salaries for the last five months, which had created a host of problems for them. They complained that they had lost electricity connections as power supply was cut off to their homes for being unable to pay the utility bills on time.

Some said they could not pay the school fee of their children. They said that they have been in financial difficulties over the last five months, demanding the government to release funds so that they could be paid the pending salaries. An employee said that the grocers had stopped giving them food items on credit and were demanding their money.

Meanwhile, Tehsil Municipal Officer Rahmat Hanif Khan said that he had informed the high-ups about the situation. Deputy Commissioner, Lower Chitral, Mohammad Ali Khan told media that the matter had been brought into the notice of the secretary Local Government Department. He said that the official in question had assured them that the grant for the payment of salaries would be released within the next 24 hours.