By Riaz Narijo
DADU: Allegations of harassment against female polio workers have emerged during a seven-day anti-polio campaign in Sindh’s Dadu district, triggering protests by lady health workers in Mehar and Khairpur Nathan Shah tehsils.
The protesting workers said they were subjected to harassment and inappropriate behaviour by some police personnel assigned to provide security during field duties. One polio worker, Noor Bano, told local media that the conduct of certain police officials remained unacceptable while they were carrying out official work.
The workers also alleged that the district health office and the local administration were failing to take their complaints seriously. They called on authorities to take immediate notice of the matter and to initiate action against those responsible.
The deputy commissioner of Dadu, Syed Murtaza Ali Shah, rejected the allegations, describing them as a misunderstanding. He said some lady health workers had raised objections to the monitoring process conducted by monitoring teams.
The deputy commissioner said the anti-polio campaign was continuing smoothly and that issues raised by health workers were being addressed. He added that a total of 407,763 children were to be administered polio drops across the district during the seven-day campaign.
