NAUSHAHRO FEROZE, Jan 11: Growers on Saturday staged a rally and blocked the National Highway bypass for over two hours to protest against the attitude of the sugar mills owners and government.

Over 1,200 growers from all over the district had responded to the call of the ‘Save Agriculture Committee.’

The organiser of the Agriculture Committee, Sohail Ahmed Abbasi, threatened that the growers would take over the sugar mills if their demands were not accepted.

The protesters adopted six resolutions unanimously, including a demand for an end to the zoning system, re-introduced by sugar mill owners, take over by the government of sugar mills, which were not purchasing sugarcane besides demanding appointment of receivers for purchasing sugarcane at Rs43 per 40kg.

The district president of the Sindh Abadgar Welfare Board, Ashfaque Tagar, demanded of the DCO, Naushahro Feroze, to take action against sugar mill owners for violating the law.

The president of the Sindh Abadgar Board, Nawabshah, Syed Zain Shah, complained that while the army was being sent out to recover small amounts of electricity bills from poor consumers in the rural areas, but no effort was being made to implement the government’s decision regarding payment to the sugarcane growers.

The Naib Nazim of the Naushahro Feroze union council, Abdul Raheem Abbasi, also demanded action against sugar mill owners, who were not implementing the decision of the government.

The president of the Sindh Sagar Party, Maulvi Azizullah Bohio, said that the growers, who had already lost a lot because of acute shortage of water, were further traumatized by sugar mills.

The DCO, Muhammad Naeem Malik, speaking to the growers, while assuring the growers of conveying their demand to the government, said that he supported the growers’ demands.

The Nazimeen of union councils of Phul, Ghair Gajo, Abdul Waheed Abbasi, and Abdul Fatah, respectively, as well as Niaz Lanjar, Abdul Shakoor Abbasi, Rasool Bakhsh Wistro and the district general secretary of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (F), Maulvi Abdullah Phul spoke on the occasion.

A heavy contingent of police, led by the DPO, Mohammad Dawood Junejo, was deployed to avoid any untoward incident.