MIRPURKHAS: Hundreds of workers and office-bearers of the Qaumi Awami Tehreek (QAT) and abadgars held a demonstration and staged sit-in outside the local press club on Wednesday in protest against delay in starting the crushing season and fixing the official rate of sugar cane, and acute shortage of water.

Carrying banners and placards, the protesters were raising slogans in support of their demands led by Ayaz Latif Palijo, Dr Gulzar Jumani, Anwer Nohani, Mohammad Ali Junejo, Advocate Shahnawaz Hingorjo, Dhani Bux Khoso and others.

Sindh Abadgar Board Mirpurkhas district chapter president Haji Mohammad Umer Bughio, Sarfaraz Junejo, Sindh Abadgar Ittehad Umerkot chapter president Mir Ghazanfar Ali Talpur, Shamsuddin Junejo, Dr Javed Marri and Radha Bheel also joined the protest.

They demanded of the government to immediately ensure starting of the crushing season, fix the official rate of cane and supply adequate water to the tail-end areas of Mirpurkhas district.

Addressing the protesters, Ayaz Palijo alleged that the Sindh government was responsible for devastation of the agriculture sector as well as standing sugar cane crop. He said the time had come to get rid of the “feudal lords” of Sindh and sugar mill mafia.

Criticising the Sindh government, he said the basic agenda of the PPP included Zulfikarabad project, neglect of Tharparkar district, occupation of costly government land and destruction of the agriculture sector.

The Sindh government failed to provide bread even to the poor peasants; how could it solve the problems of the masses? he questioned.

He claimed that sugar mills were not being started deliberately to press the abadgars to sell their cane crop at cheaper rates.

The QAT alleged that the PPP government was trying to use ‘Sindh card’, but now it could not be exploited because of the awareness among the masses. Now Sindhi people stood up to face atrocities, loot and plunder.

There was no democracy in Sindh; the province was the kingdom of Zardari, he said, adding that the rates of crops were being used as a weapon against the opponents of the present government.

He alleged that land in cities was handed over to a property tycoon.

He also alleged that illegal direct watercourses were approved for providing irrigation water to the lands of Zardari, PPP MNAs and MPAs.

Published in Dawn, November 23rd, 2017