JHANG: Traffic remained suspended for five hours on Tuesday as the Pakistan Kissan Ittehad (PKI) activists blocked the Shah Jewna bridge on the River Chenab, 16km from here, to highlight their demands.

They also staged a sit-in on the bridge. The protest was called off and road opened for traffic at about 11pm after negotiations between the district administration and the PKI representatives earlier in the day.

PKI President Wajid Noul and general secretary Saeed Noul led the demonstration which was attended by thousands of farmers who had come there on their tractor trollies.

The rally began from the deputy commissioner office. Wajid Noul told reporters that their demands included the recovery of Rs1 billion from three sugar mills of the district, withdrawal of inflated and bogus electricity tube well bills by Fesco authorities.

A district administration source told the scribe that they had convened a meeting of the PKI office bearers, sugar mills administration, Fesco authorities and revenue department officials to discuss the problems.

Published in Dawn, September 16th, 2020