HYDERABAD, Jan 12: Employees of the Sindh Provincial Cooperative Bank Limited have complained that the remaining 42 employees of the bank have not been paid salaries for the past two years and their families are starving.

Addressing a news conference at the press club here on Thursday, representatives of the employees, Ghulam Basheer Dahraj, Abdul Khalig Memon and Ghulam Yasin Abbasi appealed to Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah to approve the summary submitted by the department concerned to pay the remaining salaries and golden handshake to the employees and to liquidate the bank.

They said that in 1977, on the orders of late Prime MinisterZ.A.Bhutto, an amendment was introduced in the co-operative law and the bank was established to provide loans to the small growers.

They said the bank remained in operation till 1989, but it stopped working due to non-recovery of loans. During the Arbab Rahim's government, a remission of Rs252.986 million was given to the growers but the Sindh government did not compensate the bank.

They also said the same Sindh government in 2005 again granted further remission to the growers to the tune of Rs1,083.415 million, but the government again failed to pay this amount to the bank.

They said the bank owed only Rs511.824 million to the Sindh government and even after deductions,the Sindh government had still to pay Rs824.591 million to the bank which has not been made till date.

They said the bank had now no business and the families of remaining 42 employees were starving.

They said the employees had filed a writ petition in the Sindh High Court, but the petition was still pending because the Sindh government had sought adjournment.

The employees said that on Nov 29, 2010, a summary was submitted by the department concerned to the Sindh chief minister recommending that the employees should be paid their salaries and golden handshake and terminated and the bank should be liquidated.

Although the chief minister had approved the summary, but it hadnot been implemented as a result of which, they were facing insurmountable financial hardships, they said and appealed for justice.

STAGE ARTISTES: The officebearers of Hyderabad Stage Council have severely criticised the Sindh culture department and Mehran Arts Council for totally ignoring the stage artistes.

Addressing a press conference here on Thursday, leaders of the council Sattar Pervez, Abdullah Khan, Lala Moin Feroze and Syed Sarwar Nadeem demanded the attitude meted out to them should be stopped forthwith.

They complained that the Hyderabad Stage Council, which has 450 members, had been totallyignored.

They demanded that with singing and dancing, acting classes should also be introduced at Mehran Arts Council and teachers should be appointed strictly on merit through a committee of senior artists.

They also demanded that senior artistes should be sanctioned monthly stipend; they should be provided free medical treatment and rent for organising stage dramas should be decreased. They said that an office of artistes should be set up at the Mehran Arts Council and a permanent deputy director should be appointed.

If these demands were not accepted, 450 stage artists would stage a protest demonstration and a hunger strike unto death, they threatened.