rawalpindi - Veterinary doctors and paraveterinary staff here on Wednesday staged protest rally and a sit-in outside Rawalpindi Press Club against Punjab government for non-provision of risk allowance.

The doctors and paraveterinary staff took out a rally from office of District Livestock at Shamsabad and reached outside the press club.

The protest rally was headed by Dr Waheed Sajid, President of Veterinary Doctors Association Rawalpindi and Javaid Akhtar Satti, President Punjab Para-Veterinary Staff.

The protestors were carrying placards and banners with slogans against the provincial government. The protest rally also caused a massive traffic jam on Benazir Bhutto Road.

Addressing the protesters, their representatives said that they were protesting against maltreatment of Punjab government towards their legal demands.

The vets were protesting against non-payment of monthly risk allowance approved by the government in 2014. The allowance was to be paid to the vets, as they had to make contacts with animals that could lead to deadly diseases at times. Further, they were raising slogans against unavailability of Sunday as weekly off day for last one year. Their department had also not been allowing them to go on longer holidays for six months or more.

The livestock department has also stopped offering LPR to the employees nearing their retirements.

The paraveterinary staffers were up in arms against Punjab government for not promoting them and not revising their pay scales.

The employees of the livestock department also alleged that the government had been forcing them to sell animal fodder prepared by a specific private company. A senior veterinary doctor told media that the government had stored the fodder in vet hospitals and clinics. He said that in open market price of the specific fodder was Rs1,300 for every 37kg sack. He said that the government had provided 20kg sacks of the fodder each with price tag of Rs620.