HYDERABAD, June 26: Unemployment, coupled with price hike has made the sustenance of a common man beyond reach, said President, Pakistan Wapda Hydro Electric Central Labour Union (CBA), Abdul Latif Nizamani.

He said inflation, unemployment, lawlessness, and terrorism were on peak making life of people miserable. Prices of essential items, such as wheat flour, sugar, pulses, and edible oil had skyrocketed to unattainable levels, he said.

He said people out of desperation for failure to provide even one square meal to their families were committing suicides. He demanded of the government to adopt effective measures to reduce price hike and fix minimum salary equal to the price of one tola gold.

He was speaking to Hesco employees at a reception hosted by the Computer Centre employees in honor of retired employees, company officers and office-bearers of the union, on Thursday.

Nizamani said computer education was necessary for employees to progress and complimented the Centre employees for rendering yeomen services and honoring their retired colleagues.

He said the CBA union through negotiations with Hesco administration had succeeded in seeking employment for 100 orphans, while services of 800 contract employees had been regularized, and efforts were afoot to get employed children of retired employees.

He told workers to decrease the line losses and retrieve Hesco from deficit and should recover outstanding bills.

Director Finance Aftab Ahmed, Director Human Resources Sohail Khatiyan, Director Commercial Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah and others also spoke on the occasion. drug abuse: Participatory approach in curbing drug peddling and setting up a rehabilitation centre were termed mandatory while involvement of opinion leaders essential for purging the society from this menace.

This was the unanimous opinion of speakers at a seminar held to mark the World Anti-Narcotics Day on Thursday. It was organized by the Anti-Narcotics Department at Dr N.A. Baloch Hall of the Sindhi Language Authority.

Dr Akbar Ali Memon said that administration alone was unable to fight this peril as involvement of opinion leaders was a neccesity. He said this was only possible through integrated strategies, as social evils can be controlled through social and administrative reforms.

Deputy Director Anti Narcotics Tajman Ali said that law enforcement agencies were trying their level best to check proliferation of narcotics adding that people suffer from drug abuse due to unemployment and unfair social conditions. He said about six million people in the country were using intoxicants which was equivalent to the massacre of a society.