MANSEHRA: People of Battagram district on Sunday took to the streets to seek provision of doctors and other facilities in the tehsil headquarters hospital, Allai, which was reconstructed after being flattened by the October 2005 earthquake.

People from different parts of Allai tehsil gathered in the main bazaar and raised anti-government slogans.

`The hospital was reconstructed after the earthquake, but it`s still without doctors and its X-ray machine is lying inoperative, said a protester, Syed Noor Hudah Shah. He said women patients were suffering a lot as there was no lady doctor at the hospital, forcing them to travel to Mansehra and Abbottabad even for minor operations.

Mr Shah said that the hospital had a doctor until recently, but he had also been transferred.

Another protester, Mohammad Yousuf said that tehsil Allai comprised mostly rural areas which lacked health facilities.

`The government should fill the vacant posts of doctors and other staff, otherwise we would be left with no other option but to block Allai-Thakot and BattagramAllai road for an indefinite period,` said Mr Yousaf.

He said that PTI-led provincial government had been making tall claims of bringing changes in the health and education system in the province, but people of far off areas were still deprived of basic health and education facilities.

When contacted, local MPA Shah Hussain Bacha, said that he had taken up the issue of shortage of staff at the hospital with the health authorities, but to no avail. He said that he would now take up the issue at the assembly floor.

He said even the X-ray plant of the hospital could not be made operational even after eight years of its reconstruction because of nonavailability of technical staff.

Mr Bacha said the government should take steps to provide health services to about 0.2 million population of Allai tehsil.