SAHIWAL: Around 200 workers of Suthra Punjab staged a strong protest at Nagina Chowk, Pakpattan, on Thursday against the non-payment of their salaries.

The demonstrators blocked the roundabout and chanted slogans against their contractor, CAGLC & Co, and the Sahiwal Solid Waste Management Company (SSWMC) for the delay.

The workers told the media that they had not received salaries for the past two months.

Sources said the CAGLC & Co had the cleanliness contract for tehsil Pakpattan and it had employed about 1,300 solid waste workers on a daily basis, including 500 in Pakpattan city alone.

Seven private contractors are currently handling solid waste operations across the seven tehsils of Sahiwal Division under the umbrella of the SSWMC. It is the SSWMC that did make payments to local contractors.

Sources, speaking on condition of anonymity from CAGLC & Co, told Dawn that salaries for Suthra Punjab workers in Pakpattan had been pending with SSWMC since March 2026 due to this administrative transition.

Reportedly, about Rs200m owed to the Pakpattan contractor remains unpaid by the SSWMC.

Mahmood Munir Bhatti, owner of CAGLC & Co, told Dawn that Rs200m was still pending but the company had paid half of the salaries.

Mahmood assured that payment to all 1,300 workers of Suthera Punjab would be made.

Pakpattan Deputy Commissioner Asif Raza said district administration had talked to the SSWMC which assured him that salaries would be released at the earliest.

Published in Dawn, April 24th, 2026