HYDERABAD, Jan 17: As many as 19 Nazims, Naib Nazims and councillors of Kotri and Thana Bula Khan talukas staged a protest demonstration outside the press club on Saturday against the authoritarian attitude of district coordination officer, Dadu, Aijaz Mangi.

Later, speaking at a news conference on behalf of the elected representatives, Nazim union council Khuda-Ki-Basti Manthar Khaskheli, Nazim UC Sindh University Jamshoro Syed Tabraz Shah, Nazim UC Jamshoro Ms Naima Baloch, Nazim UC Manjhand Shahid Hussain Kuchhi, district council member Shamim Akhtar and comrade Bhagwandas said all the 19 elected representatives of the people would resign from their posts if the DCO failed to release development funds for various union councils within one week.

They said the development funds for the union councils were approved in the budget seven months back, but despite promises, DCO Aijaz Mangi had not released the funds.

They claimed that an amount of Rs1.5 million was approved for each Nazim and Rs500,000 for each councillor in the district government budget in June 2003.

They said the development funds were reduced to Rs500,000 for the Nazims and Rs200,000 for the councillors, but even this amount was not released.

They said the DCO had scheduled a meeting with the elected members of the two talukas on Jan 13 but he postponed the meeting to Jan 16 on which date he himself remained absent.

They said the meeting was again postponed to Jan 17 and the members had to wait for four hours but again the DCO did not turn up.

They warned that if the DCO was not removed within one week and the development funds were not released, 19 elected members of the local councils from Kotri and Thana Bula Khan talukas would tender their resignations.

They also strongly protested against the indifferent attitude of DDO revenue, EDO works and district support officer.

They said the DCO and his subordinates were hell bent on destroying the nascent local bodies system.

They also accused the DCO of corrupt practices and said that the corruption had become the order of the day in all the departments of district government.

Answering a question, whether the district Nazim was in the know of things, they said that bureaucracy was more powerful than the elected representatives of the people.