LARKANA, Dec 15: A large number of growers from different parts of Larkana and Qambar-Shahdadkot districts, demanding procurement price for paddy at Rs400 per 40 kilogram, blocked the Indus Highway for two hours on the main Shaikh Zayed Hospital road here on Thursday.

Abdul Majeed Shaikh, president of the Sindh Hari Abadgar Board, led the protest. The protesters criticized government’s indifferent attitude towards their problem.

They torched on the road a heap of paddy crop as a token of protest and stopped vehicular traffic.

They moved to the district nazim’s secretariat to register their resentment.

As nazim was not in the office, his administrative officer Ashique Memon met the protesters and assured them of the district government’s full support.

SHAB’s president Shaukat Ali Chandio and others announced that they would stop paying water and revenue taxes till the government made arrangements to procure paddy for Rs400 per 40 kilogram through Passco, Trade Corporation of Pakistan or any other agency.

They said that due delay in procurement of paddy the growers would bear tremendous financial loss as they had to clear huge bank loans.

They said it would be a tedious task to pay revenue and water taxes in time under conditions where the tillers had yet not thrashed their crop.

The harvested crop was lying in the open fields as the farmers were reluctant to bring it to the market.