Patronage for criminals: Protest held against illegal occupants in Irrigation Colony

FAISALABAD:

Hundreds of residents of Irrigation Colony on Monday staged a protest demonstration against what they called illegal occupation by a former colleague.

The protesters, holding banners and posters gathered at Zila Council Chowk where they staged a sit-in in front of the secretariat of the district government.

The protest was led by Chaudhary Abdur Rehman and Muhammad Shafiq, office bearers of the Pakistan United Irrigation Employees Union and All Pakistan Clerks Association.

Talking to newsmen, Rehman said Sajid and his brother Sajjad had been working as gauge readers for the Irrigation Department. He said the two were involved in land grabbing around Irrigation Colony.

“They have links with criminals and often invite them to Irrigation Colony to extort money from residents,” he said.

“We complained about the situation to Chief Engineer Khalid Haneef Bhatti who dismissed the brothers after conducting an inquiry against them,” he said.

Despite being removed from service, he said, the brothers were still occupying the quarters and their criminal activities in the area continued unabated.

The protesters chanted slogans against the two men and urged the district government to remove them from Irrigation Colony. The protestors also blocked the traffic near University Road.

The CPO met the protesters and assured them that action would be taken against illegal occupants of the Irrigation Colony and they would be taken to task in accordance with law.

The protesters dispersed on his assurance.

Talking to The Express Tribune, the Irrigation Department XEN Ghulam Murtaza said a team had been formed to investigate claims of the residents. He said action would be taken against illegal occupants of Irrigation Colony once the findings of the report were available.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 9^th, 2015.