SAHIWAL: A Muharram mourning procession taken out from Syed Nazir Hussain Bukhari imambargah at Chak 135/9-L turned into a sit-in because stinking sewage was not removed from the procession route despite repeated requests to the authorities concerned.

More than 500 mourners, including women and children, staged a sit-in in the Main Bazaar of the village and demanded cleaning of the route by the district administration. They condemned the apathy of the local administration as they had submitted written complaints over the issue to both the district council as well as the district administration.

Zeeshan Bukahri, the organiser of the procession, protested against the nonprofessional approach of the district council chief for not dispatching teams to clear the route.

Speaking at the occasion, he said the junior staff failed to implement the orders of the district administration. He informed Dawn that one month back, he had submitted different applications to Commissioner Salwat Saeed and the district administration for cleaning the route but no action was taken. He said he called on District Police Officer Sadiq Baloch also and asked for his favour.

“Now the procession is stuck in the middle of Main Bazaar as there is no way to cross sewage,” Zeeshan told Dawn by phone.

Altaf Hussain Junjua, the local politician, said the village elders had decided to do the task of cleaning the procession route themselves.

Dawn learnt from sources that the village youth came forward and cleaned up the streets by removing sewage, making way for the procession to move.

Published in Dawn, August 8th, 2022