TIMERGARA: Residents of Adenzai tehsil on Tuesday complained about shortage of staff and other facilities at schools and hospitals, and about the poor performance of government departments, including National Highways Authority, Nadra, Pesco, health and education.

They aired their grievances during an open kutchery held at the Fishing Hut, Chakdara, which was presided over by Lower Dir deputy commissioner Sohail Khan.

Over 300 residents from different areas of Adenzai, heads of government departments, and political activists were in attendance.

JI local leader Madad Khan, Bacha Rahman of QWP, Haji Nawab of PPP, Zahir Shah of ANP, and Anjuman Tajaran, Chakdara, president Khawaja Faizul Ghafoor spoke on the occasion.

They said that traffic jams had been a routine at Chakdara bazaar owing to encroachments, and demanded construction of a by-pass road to ease traffic congestion.

They also complained about shortage of staff at schools and hospitals. They said that the main and link roads in Adenzai had been in bad shape for quite some time, but the concerned authorities had not been tak-ing any notice of the matter.

They said the drains were choked due to which rainwater flowed onto roads and footpaths, causing inconvenience to people.

The deputy commissioner, while taking prompt notice of complaints, directed the relevant officials to mitigate the people`s suffering without delay.

ANTI-ENCROACHMENT DRIVE: The district administration on Tuesday used heavy machinery to remove encroachments in Khall bazaar during the ongoing anti-encroachment drive.

Assistant commissioner, Timergra, Mohammad Ayaz Mohmand accompanied by additional assistant commissioners Shah Jamil Khan and Hikmatullah Wazir and a heavy contingent of Levies personnel removed illegal encroachments on the main Khall road during the sixhour-long operation.

Talking to journalists on the occasion, Ayaz Mohmand warned shopkeepers to refrain from encroachments, otherwise, they would be dealt with iron hands.

SCHOOLS TO REMAIN CLOSED: The president of the all private educational networks, district chapter, Abdul Wadood, on Tuesday announced that all private educational institutions in the district would remain closed today (Wednesday) in protest against the brutal attack on the Army Public School, Peshawar.