DADU, Sept 11: Hundreds of villagers, led by leaders of Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz (JSQM), staged a demonstration on Tuesday outside the main gate of Zamzama gas plant, operated by BHP Billiton, a multinational oil and gas concern, in protest against the company’s neglect of locals in provision of jobs and non-payment of compensation for land.

The protesters led by JSQM chairman Bashir Khan Qureshi, vice-chairman, Dr Niaz Kalani, district president of STP, Ghulam Qadir Leghari and an affected grower Khamiso Khan Panhwar started march on the Dadu-Johi Road and terminated at the main gate of the gas plant.

In his address to protesters, Mr Qureshi accused the BHP and other oil and gas exploring companies of neglecting local people with regard to jobs. The BHP had been operating in Dadu since 1998 but it had not yet provided gas to the area of its operation, and failed to carry out development works in a number of villages.

He warned the company of a series of protests across the province if the company did not provide jobs to locals, and release compensation money for land acquired for drilling.

Dr Niaz Kalani alleged that the company was appointing people from the Punjab and other provinces to skilled and unskilled posts and had employed only a handful of locals for lower category jobs of watchmen and peons.

Khamiso Khan Panhwar claimed that the company acquired his 16 acres of agricultural land on lease but later some company officials got fake documents of purchase prepared and stopped him release of compensation. He claimed that the company had established its main camp on his land.

A number of PHP officials led by Syed Moharramul Haq Hashmi of land acquisition branch and Ali Akbar Rahimoon, community development officer, came out of the gate to negotiate with the protesters.

They assured the leaders that they would inform the company’s high-ups in Islamabad about their demands and would get a response by Sept 30. Mr Qureshi, later, told journalists that if the company did not accept their demands by Sept 30, they would stage a demonstration again.