KARACHI, Feb 9: A large number of residents of Lines Area staged a demonstration outside the press club here on Sunday in protest against the government’s move to dislodge them from their locality.

The rally was organized by the Awami Ittehad Welfare Committee which demanded withdrawal of the eviction orders.

The protesters, including women and children, raised slogans against the relevant authorities for serving them notices for the eviction ‘on the pretext of development work’ in the area.

The organizers alleged that serious irregularities had been committed with regard to the Lines Area Redevelopment Project to usurp a large number of plots. They demanded a high level inquiry into the affair.

The protesters lamented that they were being dislodged from their ancestral properties to carve out roads and shopping plazas. They further pointed out that the minimum market value of each of the plots in lines area was Rs400,000 but the authorities were offering them a plot worth no more than Rs40,000 in exchange as compensation. The location (Korangi industrial area) meant for their rehabilitation, they added, was about 30 kilometres from the city centre and lacked the essential facilities like schools and hospitals. They deplored ‘forced evacuation’ in the name of development and demanded an amicable solution to their problem.

BNP-BSO RALLY: A protest demonstration was organized jointly by the Balochistan National Party and Balochistan Students Organization (Mengal) outside the press club here on Sunday against, what they called, victimization of Baloch community.