KHAR: People here on Wednesday staged a protest demonstration against lack of drinking water and other basic facilities in the agency headquartershospital.

The protest was started byattendantsofthepatients at the hospital which was laterjoined by the areapeople, social workers and political activists.

Chanting slogans against the hospital management, the protesters later gathered at Khar-Peshawar highway and blocked it briefiy to show their anger at unavailability of basic facilities at the hospital.

The protesters claimed that the agency headquarters hospital, Khar, had been without water and electricity for the last several days. They held the hospital management responsible for the mess.

They pointed out that powerful generators were available at the hospital, but these were lying nonfunctional. They alleged that the management was misappropriating the funds allocatedforfuelof generators. They said that most of solar lights at the hospital were also out of order since long.

They also criticised the local administration for not taking notice of the lack ofbasic facilities at the agency`s main hospital. The protesters dispersed after the officials assured them of resolving the issues.

FUNDS FOR REMOTE AREAS: The local administration would allocate a big amount of funds for the militancy-hit areas in the next annual development programme.

Political agent Abdul Amir Khattak said this while addressing a jirga of elders of Mamond tribe during his visit to the area the other day. He said that the administration was determined to improve the living standard of people of backward and militancy-hit areas by providing basic needs to them.

He said that the administration would give priority to backward areas in new development schemes, as the people of these areas deserved to get basic amenities.

He said that remote parts of the agency had been ignored in development projects in the past. He told the elders about the administration`s vision to improve the living standard of the people of tribal areas, saying that huge funds would be allocated for the backward parts of the agency in upcoming ADP. Correspondent