Anti-Thal canal demo held

Published June 10, 2003

LARKANA, June 9: A large number of Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz (JSQM) activists on Monday held a protest demonstration against the construction of the Thal canal.

The central chairman of the JSQM, Basheer Khan Qureshi, and Abdul Wahid Arisar led the protesters.

The protesters started marching from the Shaikh Zayed Chowk. Carrying banners and flags, they chanted slogans against the government for initiating “anti-Sindh projects”.

After marching on the main roads of the city, they converged at the Pakistan Chowk, where Basheer Khan Qureshi, Abdul Wahid Arisar, Momin Samo, Athar Soomro and Qamar Bhatti gave speeches.

They alleged that with the construction of the greater Thal canal at least 4,000,000 acres of fertile land of Sindh would be destroyed.

They warned that if the project was not cancelled immediately, they would hold a huge protest demonstration in Karachi on June 25.

They said that Wapda by providing inflated bills was squeezing the people of Sindh despite resorting to load-shedding on a daily basis.