GUJRAT: Scores of farmers, of Sambrial, on Wednesday blocked Wazirabad-Sambrial Road against the contractors for excavating sand and mud from the area in the day time.

Protesters, carrying banners and placards inscribed with their demands, first took out a procession which culminated at Randheer Mor where they blocked both sides of the dual carriageway.

Traffic towards Sialkot-Lahore motorway and the Sialkot international airport remained out of gear for at least a couple of hours.

Chaudhry Osama, a local farmer, told Dawn the elders of at least six villages in the area had recently held negotiations with the contractors of sand and mud lifting companies asking them not to operate in the daytime since dumpers, trollers and other machinery would cause dust pollution in the area due to which a number of women, children and farmers had to come across the breathing issues.

He said contractors had agreed to this proposal whereas the local administration had also been apprised of the situation, however, after a couple of days the heavy vehicles and machinery again started operating nonstop.

Another participant said the road infrastructure of the area had already ruined by the heavy vehicles and health issues and noise and dust pollution had surfaced in the area which could not be tolerated any more.

The protesters demanded the authorities prevent the movement of these vehicles at east in the day time and also rehabilitate the damaged road.

The Sambrial DSP held talks with protesters and convinced the protesters to end the road blockade.

Published in Dawn, September 23rd, 2021