NAUSHAHRO FEROZE, Oct 5: Stock assistants, veterinary field dispensers, livestock assistants and livestock inspectors of the agriculture and livestock department staged a demonstration here on Friday to protest against delay in upgradation of their pay scales.

They provided the journalists with copies of a summary regarding upgradation of their pay scale, sent by the then secretary of livestock and fisheries to the adviser to the Sindh chief minister in June 2006 which was later sent to the secretary finance. They said that the summary was forwarded to the chief minister on August 19, 2006.

Vice-chairman, Sindh Para-veterinary Staff Association, Naeemul Haq Channa, told journalists that the adviser Jadam Mangrio through an official handout had announced upgradation of pay scale of 811 employees but no notification had been issued in this regard.

He said that out of the 811 employees, 559 were stock assistants, 40 veterinary field dispensers, 87 livestock assistants, 121 livestock inspectors and four artificial inseminators, working under the provincial directorates of animal husbandry, poultry production and research and animal breeding.

He said that the financial impact of the upgradation was calculated to the extent of Rs5.800 million per annum. He said that stock assistants had passed a two-year course of agriculture field assistant from agriculture colleges but they had been denied promotions.

They demanded of the Sindh chief minister to look into the matter personally.

THREAT: The employees of irrigation department have threatened to close all the minor canals of the district fed from Rohri Canal if kidnapped assistant engineer, Rohri, Bashir Ahmed Kalhoro, is not recovered in 24 hours.