MULTAN, Dec 19: People living along the left bank of the Indus held a rally on the eve of Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi’s visit to the Taunsa barrage to protest against proposed construction of new dams/projects on the river.

The protesters were from the indigenous communities of Mor, Mohaney, Jhabail, Lurehey and Kehal who solely depend on the river for their livelihood. Most of them are fishermen.

The rally was organized by an organization called ‘Sindhu Bachao Tarla’. Around 1,000 native people have been displaced owing to remodelling of the barrage. The SBT people alleged that a majority of the displaced people had yet to be compensated.

Addressing the rally, the SBT leaders said that none of the local people had welcomed the CM as they all were here to raise voice for their rights. They demanded ownership rights of the alternative lands being given to them against their displacement, lands to the landless, abolition of the contract system in the river fishing and permission to cut weeds from the river.

They said that the dams and barrages on the river had already affected their livelihood while more projects of this kind would ultimately diminish their population and sources of income. They urged the government to introduce licence system in the river fishing as under the contract system their status was like bonded labour.

They said they were used to make baskets with river weeds to make both the ends meet by selling them but now they could not do so because the weed harvest had also been auctioned to contractors.