LARKANA: The activists of Watan Dost Federation and Watan Dost Jhamoori Party took out a large rally, staged a sit-in and held a protest demonstration at Jinnah Bagh on Friday against massive price hike, unemployment, corruption, lawlessness, encroachment of coastal islands, privatisation of national institutions and highhandedness with the labourers.
The rally kicked off from Lahori Muhalla and after marching through various roads, culminated at Jinnah Bagh Chowk where the participants staged a sit-in and held a demonstration.
While addressing the participants, Comrade Gul Sher Shar, Qadir Kurd, Jabbar Subahpoto, Aziz Abbasi, Gul Korai, Ibrahim Baloch, Lakhmir Mahar, Wajid Junejo, Saqi Sangi and others said that worst affected will be the labour class with the privatisation of WAPDA and Steel Mills adding more people will be badly affected with the coastal islands encroachment by the Center.
They said that back of the poverty-stricken people has already been broken with the massive price hike and they are struggling to live. They said due to corruption all institutions have reached at the verge of destruction, lawlessness has increased due to which people cannot sleep and lives and properties of the people are not safe, hence, they added, they have decided to launch protest demonstrations starting from Larkana which will continue across Sindh. They said they have always struggled for the rights of the labourers and will continue to do so declaring “we have never bowed down before and we will never do it in future”.
They said they are against the system which has always grilled labourers as all parties have ruined them. They said the Labour Department is working for the rights of labourers but it has done nothing for the betterment of the poor and downtrodden masses. The alleged that every month Rs20 million of Labour Department are sent to a particular family (without disclosing the family) which is being carried out by a sitting bureaucrat of the department, they further claimed. They said 90% of the population in the country is of labour and with their vote governments are made but they forget them after coming to power because there is no representative from the labour class who can raise their voice in the corridors of power. They said 2% people are ruling over 90% people hence labourers will have to unite to secure their rights.
Through various resolutions which were passed unanimously they demanded an immediate end to the huge price hike, unemployment, privatisation of Steel Mills, WAPDA, thorough probe into the affairs of the Labour Department, Workers Welfare Board, EOBI, Social Security and ruthless action against corruption. They also demanded removal of the federal government’s occupation of Sindh and Balochistan islands.