JHANG City News

BHU woman medical officer salary held for one-day ‘absent’

From Our Correspondent

JHANG: The district accounts officer (DAO) on an advice of the Health EDO has stopped the monthly salary of a woman medical officer posted at the Basic Health Unit (BHU), Samandoana, (Ahmadpur Sial) on a charge of one day absent from duty.

Talking to The News outside the DCO Office here on Friday, retired female educationist Mrs Irshad said that her daughter Aasia Batool, a woman medical officer, reached the BHU a little late as the main route was blocked due to a village festival while the mobile evaluation assistant of the District Monitoring Office, having an official motorbike, reached the health facility early and allegedly marked her absent. She said that her daughter was on duty at the BHU on Friday, and therefore, she came to meet the DCO to get her daughter’s salary resumed.

When contacted, DAO Fazal Elahi said that the monthly salary of Woman Medical Officer Aasia Batool had been stopped on the written advice of the health officials. He said that a report would be forwarded to the Punjab Health secretary and the Jhang DCO for guidelines that either the health EDO or the DO had an authority to stop the whole month salary of any official for one day absent or not.

Health EDO Dr Zafar Khan said that on a report from the district monitoring officer regarding one day absent of Aasia Batool, he held an inquiry against the doctor and till the final decision of the inquiry he only wrote the DAO to stop her monthly health sector reform (HSR) allowance. After completion of the inquiry and deduction of HSR allowance for the month, the monthly salary of the lady doctor would be paid, he added.