SUKKUR: The Sukkur Development Alliance (SDA), comprising leaders of local business, trade and social organisations as well as political parties, nationalist groups and religious outfits of the district, observed a token hunger strike in a camp pitched at Clock Tower Chowk in the city on Thursday to register its protest against aggravating poverty, growing inflation, rising unemployment and suspended development works.

Speaking to the participants, SDA chairman Haji Mohammad Jawed Memon said that the entire population of the country was badly affected by inflation, price hike and unemployment but the worst-hit was the lower class that was no unable even to make ends meet.

The poor segment of society which made up over 80 per cent of the total population was struggling hard for survival, he observed.

He said the SDA decided to raise its voice over the situation to draw the federal government’s attention to the plight of the poor.

He and other SDA leaders told local reporters that suicide trend among jobless and poverty-hit people was increasing as the prices of essential commodities like wheat flour, sugar, ghee, pulses, vegetables and oil had increased beyond their affordable limit.

They noted that the present government had promised jobs to the jobless and shelter to the shelter-less but worst-ever inflation, unprecedented hike in oil, gas and electricity tariffs, expensive wheat flour, sugar, edible oil and vegetables as well as devaluation of rupee against dollar had left the ordinary man in deep trouble.

They urged the government to introduce people-friendly economic policies on an emergency basis to provide relief to the poor and downtrodden.

The protesters also criticised deputy commissioners for coming down hard on shopkeepers and vendors instead of controlling prices of daily commodities at source.

They warned that if urgent remedial measures were not taken, the SDA would step up its campaign by holding demonstrations in front of the offices of district administration and public representatives.

Those who observed a hunger strike included Musharraf Mehmood Qadri, Ghulam Mustafa Phulpoto, Ashfaq Hussain Bhatti, Mohammad Rizwan Qadri, Shah Mohammad Indhar, Abdul Sattar Rajput, Babu Farooqi, Agha Tahir Mughal, Hafiz Sharif Dada, Agha Mohammad Akram Durrani, Abdul Bari Ansari, Hafiz Niaz Qadri, Allama Abdul Sattar Brohi, Asadullah Phulpoto, Mohammad Munir Memon, Dr Saeed Awan, Imran Shah, Imamuddin, Waqar Soomro, Ubaid Shaikh, Taufiq Bandhani, Essa Khan, Raees Qureshi, Mohammad Rafiq and Khalid Soomro.

Published in Dawn, January 24th, 2020