THATTA, July 29: Chairman of Jeay Sindh Mahaz (R) Riaz Chandio has said his party is trying to mobilise nationalist parties for a joint struggle against the Zulfikarabad city project from next month.

He was addressing participants of a sit-in at site of the proposed Dhandhari bridge on the River Indus, a component of the city project near Ghorabari on Sunday.

The participants included activists of the party, villagers, members of the civil society and workers of other nationalist parties.

Mr Chandio said he was confident that leaders of nationalist parties would join hands to get this project abandoned. He said his party had convened a meeting of leaders of nationalist parties in Karachi next month to work out a joint strategy.

He said his main objective was to mobilise people of the coastal area of Thatta to raise their voice against the project which would deprive them of their ancestral land.

He alleged that the PPP government had stopped release of water downstream Kotri in the Indus to compel the local population to abandon their villages and pave way for the establishment of the city.

He criticised President Asif Ali Zardari and alleged that had assigned Owais Muzaffar Tappi to look after Thatta and Zulfiqarabad project.

He announced that JSM-R activists would block the Karachi-Gharo section of the National Highway at Mirpur Sakro juncture on Sept 16 as part of the campaign against the project.

He appealed to Pakistan Muslim League- F chief Pir Sahab Pagaro, National People’s Party leader Murtaza Jatoi and Shirazis of Thatta to dissociate themselves from the PPP government and put pressure on the rulers to abandon the project.

Gulab Shah of the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum said the project would deprive over two million people, mostly fishermen and small growers, of sources of their livelihood.

Zawar Perozani of the Sindh Taraqqi Pasand Party said the project would create environmental pollution and eliminate thousands of acres of mangroves and ruin natural resources.

Darya Khan Jat of the Awami Tahrik said that instead of building the city, the government should improve the coastline by releasing the required quantity of water downstream Kotri.