Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Friday said that prices of essential and basic food items have increased to such an extent that people have been forced to come onto the streets to protest against, “the defected policies of the selected ruler in Islamabad.”
This he said while addressing a protest rally taken out by the people of Malir against price hike at Dawood Chowrangi on Friday evening. He was accompanied by his cabinet members, advisors, special assistants, coordinators from Malir.
Shah said that the prices of flour, cooking oil, ghee, vegetables and pulses have increased to such an extent that people could not afford two square meals. “The hunger and helplessness have forced the people to stage protests onto the streets to send the selected ruler back to home,” he said and added that this poor country could not afford such a naïve, inefficient and ineffective prime minister.
“He [prime minister] used to say that if the price of a dollar goes up by one rupee it means the ruler was corrupt and thief,” the chief minister recalled and said during the tenure of the `selected ruler’ dollar has gone up by over Rs50 and now people of this country has to decide who is corrupt and thief.
The CM said that Imran Khan further stay in power would destroy the country, therefore he should be ousted, he said.
Murad Ali Shah said that keeping in view the plight of the poor people Chairman Bilawal Bhutto has urged the party to stage protest rallies against price hike and defective policies of the rulers in every city so that their policies could be exposed.
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The protesters raised slogans against the federal government and demanded removal of the prime minister. The women had participated in the protest rally carrying naan in their hands just to show that they could not afford it.
The protesters raised the slogans of Prime Minister Bilawal Bhutto.
Thar Coal
Shah, while presiding a meeting at the CM House on Friday, approved Phase-III Coal Mine expansion project in Thar at an estimated cost of Rs15.8 billion to excavate 12.2 tonnes of coal per annum.
“The third phase will reduce coal price to $27 per tonne, making it the cheapest base load fuel in the country and Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA) basket tariff would reduce by Rs0.49/kwh to Rs15.05/kwh by saving consumers Rs60 billion annual and on top of it the Sindh government would earn Rs10 billion Royalty annually,” he said
Shah said that the journey of Thar Coal was started in 2009 with a joint venture partnership between the Sindh government and Sindh Engro for development of Thar Coal.
Sindh Energy Minister Imtiaz Shaikh briefing the chief minister said that the successful execution of Phase-I of SECM project 3.8 MT/annum and 660 MW was in operation from the last two years.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 23rd, 2021.
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