LAHORE  - Punjab Ombudsman Javed Mahmood has taken notice of the nonpayment of salaries to anti-dengue staff in six districts.
The ombudsman has taken notice after he received a complaint at his Facebook account that 2,589 anti-dengue campaigners have been crying for their salaries for the past three months. These employees are posted in Lahore, Faisalabad, Sheikhupura, Gujranwala, Multan and Rawalpindi. The ombudsman issued notices to Punjab health secretary and director general over the issue and assigned Adviser Wazir Ahmad Qrueshi with the task to probe and get the problem fixed before Eid.
The complaint reads: “As many as 2,589 employees are working for eradication of dengue in six districts of the province with dedication bearing transportation expenditiure from their own pockets. The affected employees include entomologists, environment inspectors, programme managers, supervisors. A large number of women workers, who were assigned job of daily dengue surveillance and door-to-door activities, were also among the unpaid staff.”