LAKKI MARWAT - Bannu Division Commissioner Syed Abdul Jabbar Shah, while taking serious notice of the recently surfaced polio case in Lakki Marwat, has directed the concerned authorities to investigate into the matter and hold the responsible health officials to task.

He directed the district administration and the health authorities to probe the negligence and carelessness of health officials. The commissioner issued these instructions while chairing a high-level meeting of the district polio eradication committee at the District Headquarters Complex Tajazai.

Deputy Commissioner (DC) Muhammad Bakhtiar Khan, Assistant Commissioner (AC) Muhammad Shayan Ali Jawa and District Health Officer (DHO) Dr Taus Khan were also in the attendance.

The meeting discussed the emergence of the first ever polio case with details and took several important decisions with effect to ensure effective monitoring of the up-coming polio eradication campaign.

The divisional commissioner said that negligence and slackness on the part of the government officials during anti-polio drives was intolerable, asking the authorities to ensure involvement of the government officials in the campaigns.

He directed the district administration and the health authorities to probe the negligence and carelessness of health officials.  The authorities should fix responsibility and initiate disciplinary proceedings against the officials found involved in showing negligence in performing duty during vaccinating children in previous campaigns, he maintained.

Shah also directed the health authorities to engage cent percent lady health workers in the upcoming anti-polio drive commencing from October 9 and ensure effective monitoring of the field staff, including area in-charge and polio teams.

A health official said at the meeting that the department had formed 741 teams to immunize around 172,400 children under the age of five during the forthcoming polio eradication campaign.

He said that the mobile teams would launch door-to-door activity while fixed teams would administer the vaccine to the children in health facilities.

He added that the transit teams would deploy at busy public places and bus stands while the members of roaming teams would ensure vaccination of children of the nomad families against the crippling disease.  The meeting also formulated a strategy to cover refusal cases and tasked religious supports persons to launch a special two-day activity to bring down the refusal cases in the entire district to zero level.

Meanwhile, a senior lawyer Advocate Nawaz Khan and councillor Shafqatullah Khan Khoidadkhel were elected unopposed as chairman and vice chairman, respectively of district public safety commission the other day.

District Planning Officer Muhammad Riaz Khan presided over the election meeting wherein the newly appointed members of the commission participated.  The members reposed confidence in Advocate Nawaz Khan and Shafqatullah Khan and unanimously elected them as chairman and vice-chairman, respectively.

DPO Muhammad Riaz also administered the oath to the newly appointed members of the district public safety commission.

They included Jamil Ahmad Khan, Muhammad Yaqoob Khan, Muhammad Nafees, Advocate Nawaz Khan, Shamim Hasan Khan, Advocate Aslam Khan, Advocate Iftikhar Nawaz Khan, Shafqatullah Khan, Fareedullah Khan, Faqeer Muhammad Munir, Nadia and Farah Naz.

After the election, the newly elected chairman and vice-chairman were warmly received at the offices of the district nazim and district bar association.

Nawaz Khan and Shafqatullah said that they would discharge their duties fearlessly with the sole aim to address the grievances of the general public.

They also said that they would work with the spirit of team work to bridge the gap between public and police and sort out a comprehensive mechanism to address public complaints against the police.

Meanwhile, the district boy scouts association held an anti-dengue and cleanliness walk-in Lakki Marwat on Thursday.

Deputy District Education Officer (DDEO) Hamidullah Jan led the walk which started from the Government Higher Secondary School No. 3, Lakki and culminated at Michenkhel Adda.

Acting principal of the school Rehmatullah, scout leaders, Naimatullah Khan Meenakhel and Haq Nawaz, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Education Support Programme (KESP) Delivery Executive Saqib Rehman, boy scouts and students participated in the walk.

The participants were carrying banners highlighting the messages about the importance of cleanliness and the observing of dengue precautionary measures.

The boy scouts also took part in the cleanliness activity at Michenkhel Adda and removed litter and dirt from roadsides and bazaars.

Hamidullah Jan called upon the scouts to spread the dengue preventive measures in their respective localities and urge people to keep their surroundings clean and beautiful.

“Cleanliness can save us from dangerous diseases, especially those caused by mosquitoes,” he maintained. He also advised the students to play their role in promoting a clean and pollution free environment.