Watan cards: Highway blocked to protest patwari’s demands

Protesters say he charges Rs5,000 to Rs10,000 to clear applications.

RAHIM YAR KHAN:

More than 100 people blocked the highway near Rahim Yar Khan on Monday in a protest against revenue authorities for not taking any action against the area patwari who they said demanded bribes for issuing Watan Cards.

Resident of Katchi Zaman in Nurpur and Manik village in Rukanpur took out a rally that continued for more than three hours. They also blacked traffic on the highway.

The protesters said that despite proper documentation the patwari did not issue clearance for their applications. They said the patwari demanded Rs5,000 to Rs10,000 to certify that the documents were authentic.

Mohammad Khan, a resident of Katchi Zaman, told The Express Tribune that the patwari who had been made in charge of processing their applications did not issue Watan Cards to the applicants unless he was bribed.

He said he had been visiting the office for three months, but the patwari continued to ignore him. He said he lived a long distance from the revenue office and could not afford to visit the office everyday.

Ibrahim, another protester, told The Express Tribune that he and his family had lost their houses, crops and cattle in the floods.

He said he was now hand-to-mouth and had no source of income to manage his household. He said it hurt to see that the government officials were not moved by the tragedy of the people like him.

“Where should I bring the money to bribe then from when I don’t have any to feed my children,” he said.

Ibrahim said after some men in his extended family died in the floods, their women and children had also become his responsibility. He said he was not the only one facing the situation. There were many like him, he added.

The protesters requested the prime minister and the chief minister to take notice of their problems and punish the corrupt officers. They said if their demands were not met, they would be forced to head to Lahore and hold a sit-in in front of the CM’s Secretariat.

The protesters dispersed after the district revenue officer and the police assured them that the matter was being investigated.

Akbar Kehara, the Katchi Zaman patwari, denied the allegations saying that he had never demanded any money from anybody. He told The Express Tribune that Watan Cards were only issued to the deserving. He said a survey of the entire area was taken in 2011. When some applicants were told that they did not meet the criteria for the assistance, he said, they started accusing him of bribery.

Syed Wajid Ali Shah, the additional assistant commissioner told The Express Tribune that after receiving several complaints in this regard, he directed Revenue Officer Imran Aziz to visit the area and investigate the matter.

Shah said the revenue officer was currently in Rukanpur and investigating the matter. He will also visit other areas where there have been complaints, he added.

“If the patwari is found guilty, he may be fired,” Shah said.

The additional assistant commissioner said that people, identified as deserving in the 2010 survey, had all been issued Watan Cards.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 21^st, 2012.