SHEIKHUPURA, June 16: People from all walks of life gave vent to their disquiet in Safdarabad on Thursday against the Punjab government’s decision to declare Sangla Hill the tehsil headquarters of Nankana Sahib. Most of the trade centres and small shops in Safdarabad and adjoining towns remained closed. The Tehsil Bachayo Committee criticized the government for creating a controversy by divesting Safdarabad of the THQ status.

Convener Ismail Bokhari told the participants that Safdarabad had been functioning as the THQ for the past 16 years. By issuing a notification of Sangla Hill’s status as tehsil, he said, the government had hurt hundreds of thousands of people residing in Safdarabad.

He threatened that the people of Safdarabad would stage sit-ins outside parliament, the Governor’s House and the Chief Minister’s Secretariat if the decision was not withdrawn.

Earlier, the government had declared Shahkot the THQ of the new district but had to change its decision in the wake of protests by the people of Sangla Hill.

Meanwhile, a similar strike was observed in Sharqpur and adjoining areas to press the government for withdrawing its notification about Muridke city’s status as THQ.

DIES: A man died while four other members of his family fell unconscious after having a lunch at their home in Bairwala village, about 60km from here, on Thursday.