People suffer as revenue staff continues strike

MARDAN/NOWSHERA: The ongoing strike of revenue department employees has created great difficulties for people, particularly students in obtaining domicile certificates for admission to colleges after passing matriculation.

In Mardan, students and their parents told that they faced difficulties in getting domicile certificates as it was mandatory for them (students) to take admission in colleges after passing matriculation. They lamented that they were forced to shuttle between the district courts and offices of patwaries, girdawars and other relevant revenue officials in scorching heat.

Parents demanded of the government to make alternative arrangements so they could get domiciles without any hassle. The revenue staff, including patwaris and girdawars, is on a strike for seeking service structure. In Nowshera, the Anjuman-i-Patwarian wa Qanoongoyan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, vowed to continue strike till the government accepted their demands for promotion of patwaris to grade 14, girdawars to 15, naib tehsildar to 17, and increase in their allowances. This was stated by the association’s provincial president Mohammad Khan Swati while talking to mediapersons after a meeting at Pabbi on Wednesday.

Revenue officers from Hazara, Malakand, Peshawar, Mardan, Kohat, Bannu, and DI Khan divisions and the association’s general secretary, Kashif Khueshgi, were in attendance.

Mr Swati said that they would continue fight for their rights. He said that the government had adopted step motherly attitude towards them. “Now we are out to fight for the rights of employees and no one can stop us from our genuine struggle,” he said.