Voicing concerns: Ghotki residents protest illegal allotment of land

Protesters, led by Sindh Taraqi Pasand Party, gather outside the DC’s office.

SUKKUR: Dozens of protesters observed a token hunger strike on Tuesday outside the office of the Mirpur Mathelo deputy commissioner to protest what they claimed was the illegal allotment of hundreds of acres of land to the Fauji Fertiliser Company (FFC).

The protesters, led by Sindh Taraqi Pasand Party’s Jam Fatah Samejo and Syed Lal Shah, gathered outside the DC’s office, shouting slogans against the district’s Mukhtiarkar. According to the protesters, the mukhtiarkar had illegally allotted 443 acres of the villagers’ land to the fertiliser company.

They also observed a token hunger strike, demanding the cancellation of the illegal allotment orders. Speaking to journalists, Samejo alleged that the mukhtiarkar had been bribed into allotting the 443-acre land to the FFC. They claimed that the land in question belonged to the Hindus who had migrated to India.

According to Samejo, the fertiliser company had started construction work on the land, which was adversely affecting many smaller villages. He demanded the government to cancel the allotment order and take strict action against the officials.

Subsequently, the assistant commissioner met the protesters and assured them of redressing their concerns. He ordered to stop the construction immediately and assured that the allotment order will be cancelled once the DC came back from his leave.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 11^th, 2014.