DADU, May 17: Farmers of Jamshoro staged a demonstration here on Wednesday in protest against non-payment of their dues by the food department.

Led by Jamshoro District’s Abadgar Board president Mohammad Saleh Khokhar, Abdul Aziz Rajput, Abdul Malik Halepoto and Abdul Waheed Gadhi, they said the department had released the payment of influential growers.

The leaders said growers of Jamshoro had sold hundreds of wheat bags to the food department, but officials had given them only bills.

They alleged that the department had stopped the payment of the farmers who had not paid 15 per cent commission to office of the DFC. DEMO: Forty nazims, naib nazims and councillors of four union councils, belonging to the Awam Dost Panel, staged a demonstration here on Wednesday in protest against illegal construction on the government land near the police headquarters, collapse of district sanitation system and non-provision of development funds.

UC-3 Nazim Haji Ghulam Mustafa Brohi, UC-4 Nazim Ali Bux Solangi, UC-3 Naib Nazim Abdul Razzaq Solangi, UC-4 Naib Nazim Shamsuddin Babbar, councillors Ali Murad Lund, Ms Husna Solangi and others led the protest.

Speaking to demonstrators gathered in front of the Dadu press club, they said an influential person was constructing shops on the government land in UC-3 near the Dadu police headquarters.

They said the sanitation system had failed since it had been given on contract. They claimed that they had informed the TMO Dadu about the sanitation problems, but he was not listening to the complaints.

The works and services department was receiving proposals of development schemes from their defeated candidates, depriving the elected councillors of development funds.

They appealed to President General Pervez Musharraf to direct the district administration to release funds to UC nazims.

LOAD-SHEDDING: Power supply to parts of Dadu Town remained suspended for four hours on Tuesday night.