LAHORE: Visually challenged persons on Sunday blocked the Metro bus service track in protest against non-acceptance of their demand for regularisation of jobs.

Around 30 visually impaired people gathered at the Kalma Chowk and blocked the Metro bus track demanding regularisation of their service and quota in jobs. The protesters also chanted slogans against the provincial government.

They said that they had been protesting for the last three years but the government was not fulfilling its promises about regularisation of their jobs.

They said that they were working on daily wages and were not getting their salaries on time.

They regretted that the government officials who had been visiting their protests made false promises which they never fulfilled.

They said they would not clear the Metro bus track until they were handed over official orders for regularisation of their jobs.

The protest has been going on for the last two days, while the Metro bus service was suspended for the last 24 hours or so.

Model Town police operations head SP Faisal Shehzad and social welfare department officials visited the protesters and held negotiations with them, but to no avail.

A delegation of the visually challenged persons also visited the welfare department director general and held talks without any breakthrough.

The SP claimed the government had accepted some of the protesters’ demands, expressing the hope they would soon clear the Metro bus track and the service would be resumed.

Punjab minister Zaeem Qadri told the media that the matter would be resolved soon.

He said the government had already increased the job quota for special persons from two percent to 3pc and would also fill all the vacancies for them in different departments.

Published in Dawn, May 14th, 2018