TIMERGARA: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Finance Muzaffar Said on Friday asked the farmers and workers to take benefit of the `Billion Tree Tsunami Project` launched by the provincial government for malcing the province clean and green.

He was addressing a ceremony arranged for distribution of plants among the local farmers.

The function was organised by the forest department at the government high school, Shamshi Khan, in Talash. Divisional forest officer, Lower Dir, Mohammad Asghar Khan, Timergara tehsil nazim Mohammad Riaz, officials of the forest department, farmers and local elders were present on the occasion.

The minister appreciated the role of forest department, saying that its employees had been working hard to make the government`s initiative a success. He also distributed plants among the farmers which they would plant on their own.

He said that so far Rs580 million had been released for provision of basic facilities in the government schools in Lower Dir while over 1,200 vacancies of teachers had been created.

He said that millions more were being spent on security of schools in the province. The minister announced establishment of IT laboratory at the government school and reconstruction of Lowara Chinarono road.

Asghar Khan told media persons that 9.3 million saplings would be planted at 31 sites of the district. He said that 300 new plant nurserles would also be set up in the district.

BABY STOLEN: A newborn baby was allegedly abducted from the labour room of the DHQ hospital, Timergara, on Friday.

Timergara SHO Roshan Zada said that the wife of one Riaz Hussain hailing from Panakot in Upper Dir gave birth to a baby boy at the hospital on Friday morning.

He quoted Riaz Hussain as saying that the baby was stolen when his wife went to the washroom.

The police registered the case against unknown accused and have started investigation.

FACILITIES SOUGHT: Residents of Samar Bagh have demanded of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to ensure provision of basic facilities at the tehsil headquarters hospital and open its closed sections.

Talking to me dia persons, Inayatullah, Wahidullah and Nasrullah complained that doctors skipped duties even at the emergency ward. They said that the poor patients had to go for minor emergency treatment to the DHQ hospital as there were no facilities at the Samar Bagh hospital.

They said that the X-ray machine of the hospital had been out of orderfor about one year, while patients had to get their X-ray tests done from private laboratories.