By Zahiruddin
CHITRAL; The negahbaans attached with wildlife department in connection with billion tree tsunami project for afforestation in upper Chitral have demanded of the government to release their salaries of the last two years failing which they will resort to long march to Islamabad to stage a sit-in in front of the parliament house.
In a press statement issued here on Saturday, the president of the Nigahbaans Association, upper Chitral, Muhammad Nabi Khan and others said that they were engaged by the wildlife department for mass plantation campaign in June 2016 in which capacity they planted and protected hundreds of thousands of plants and the number of plants testified their efficiency.
They said that although they were paid salaries by the department during ht first six months but they were not paid a penny for the hard toil they rendered at the cost of their own farming and labor works to earn livelihood.
They said that most of them used to work in the construction sites where they earned double the money which they were paid as negahbaans and it was a sheer injustice with them on the part of the government to withhold their salaries due to which they are facing famine-like situation in their homes.
They said that when they went on strike in June last, the assistant commissioner Mastuj promised them to get their salaries released within seven days and made them to resume their work but despite the lapse of seven months, they were not paid.
