Police arrested 22 employees during the melee while Gada Shar, Sahib Khan Samejo and Karim Laghari were injured.
The NPIW employees had established a camp outside the Karachi Press Club since February 23 and had attempted to march towards the Chief Minister House multiple times, but had always been thwarted by the police’s weapons of choice: water cannons and batons.
The NPIW was launched in 2005 as a three-year project by the agriculture department. The NPIW employees were later given yearly job extensions, the last of which would expire on June 30.
“We have made the agriculture system more profitable, but our reward is that 1,300 employees, from BPS-1 to 18 would now become unemployed,” lamented NPIW employees’ action committee member Dilshad Dharejo.
While other provincial governments have given permanent jobs to NPIW employees, the Sindh government refuses to follow suit, added Dharejo.
The employees believe that improvements in agriculture yields and the fact that crops were being cultivated in Tharparkar and mountainous areas of Thatta, were all made possible because of their efforts.
“We work for the people of rural areas. We have given the golden years of our lives to this department,” said Dharejo, “but we are greeted in such a manner.”
Published in The Express Tribune, June 6th, 2012.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ