65-year-old labourer struggling to make ends meet

TIMERGARA: Muhammad Biland alias Batkhelwal, a resident of Malakand district, is a living embodiment of struggle as he performs laborious jobs despite being 67 years old.

Taking a heavy bale of clothes on his fragile back, sexagenarian Batkhelwal hails from Balaikhel Mohallah in Batkhela, the district headquarters of Malakand.

He has been wandering from street to street in Malak Abad Balambat, Kandaro, Khema, Andheri and Hajiabad villages for the last 42 years to make ends meet.

“I am suffering from diabetes, blood pressure, heart and several other diseases but I have no other option to manage for the livelihood of my family except to do laborious work,” Batkhelwal said, adding that sometimes he could not earn even a little money to pay for the fare while travelling in public transport. Batkhelwal said the unbridled inflation had broken his back and his family was forced on starvations. “One of my sons has got a bachelor of business administration (BBA) degree who is working in a private clinic of a doctor in Batkhela for a meager salary of only Rs6,000 while my second son is teaching in a private school,” he said.

“Though the skyrocketing inflation is quite unbearable for us, I am grateful to Prime Minister Imran Khan and chief minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for giving access to underprivileged citizens in a dignified manner without any financial obligations by introducing Sehat Sahulat Programme,” Batkhelwal said.