August 4, 2002	Sunday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 24,1423

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SUKKUR, Aug 3: Hundreds of people including a large number of women took out a protest rally on Friday against the gas, petroleum, and power companies for not investing a single paisa for the development of Ghotki even though they were earning billions of rupees annually from the Ghotki District.

They were led by the president, PPP (Ladies Wing), Ghotki, Shamim Akhter, while the protest was organized by the newly-formed Action Committee, Ghotki.

The protesters marched through the city raising slogans against the multi-national gas and oil exploring companies. They later assembled at Neem Chowk where the speakers threatened to surround all such companies after Aug 14 if they did not invest money in the development of Ghotki.

The speakers including Miss Shamim Akhter, Shahjahan, Fateh Samejo, Mandal Shar, and Asghar Ali Shah severely criticized the Pak-Saudi Fertilizer Co, Engro Chemicals, Mari Gas, Liberty Power Plant, Tallo Gas, and Qadirpur Gas Field, which never participated in socio-economic activities for the development of the city.

The speakers demanded that technical training institutes be established so that the poor could be trained and subsequently could get jobs in these multi-national companies.

The speakers were extremely critical about the employment policy of these companies for not employing locals saying that they were lacking in technical expertise.

They said that it was the duty of all such companies to open technical institutes to train the local people of Ghotki and ensure their recruitment.

The speakers further said that in the field of education and other developments these companies invested nothing.

They urged the government to “force” these companies to play their social and economic role in the area.

SCCI: The executive committee of the Sukkur Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in a meeting held here on Saturday, strongly protested against the exorbitant increase in stamp duty under the Sindh Finance Ordinance, 2001.