MIRPURKHAS, Jan 4: Hundreds of farmers took out a procession and staged a demonstration here on Sunday under the banner of the Sindh Farmers’ Organisations Council to protest against artificial shortage of urea fertiliser and its sale in black.

Protesters, led by council chairman Javed Junejo and carrying banners and placards, began their procession from railway station chowk and marched on main roads. They raised slogans against the government officials and demanded an end to artificial shortage of urea.

They reached outside the press club where they staged a demonstration and blocked the main road for some time.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Junejo alleged that officials of revenue and agriculture departments were involved in artificial shortage of the agricultural input and its sale in black. He said that it was a conspiracy to destroy the agriculture economy of the province.

He alleged that DCO Mirpurkhas and EDO agriculture were selling fertiliser in black to influential landlords in connivance with the officials of Utility Store Corporation (USC) and fertiliser dealers while using the name of ministers.

He said that his organisation would held protest demonstrations in those districts where artificial shortage of urea was created.

Chaudhry Niaz, Mansoor Cheema, Gul Siddique Pathan, Sher Shah and Asghar Narejo also spoke on the occasion.

Regional manager of USC Mirpurkhas, Najeeb Ali Kumbhar, has lodged an FIR under section 457, 380, 342 and 34 PPC with Satellite town police against the two unidentified persons.

He stated in the FIR that two unidentified motorcyclists reached a godown of USC on ring road on the night of Dec 27 and, after holding the watchmen hostage on gun point, tied them with rope.

He said that in the morning, the watchmen informed him about the incident and he reached at godown and found that locks of the godown were broken and general commodities worth Rs45,60,000 were missing.