Speakers at a public gathering have leveled serious allegations against rulers and police, claiming they are patronizing and facilitating drug peddlers in a deliberate attempt to push the younger generation into the deadly curse of narcotics, a crisis that has already claimed numerous lives.
The accusations were made during a traditional “Much Kachehri” held on Saturday in a coastal village, organized by the Social Worker Alliance. The event aimed to highlight the severe deprivation of basic rights and facilities, including education and health services, faced by Badin and its remote coastal areas.
A large number of prominent political, social, academic, and literary figures attended the gathering. Notable participants included Professor Dr. Tufail Chandio, Mir Hashim Khadim Talpur, District President of Sindh Taraqi Pasand Party Shah Nawaz Siyal, and Social Worker Alliance leaders Soomar Mallah and Aslam Mallah, in addition to local leaders, fishermen, and villagers.
Addressing the gathering, speakers asserted that the Laar region, once a prosperous hub of trade and agriculture, has been devastated due to the “incompetence of the rulers.” They demanded that Sindh’s resources, including the vast oil and gas reserves extracted from the area, be spent on the province itself, stating that local people are currently not being given any benefit from it.
Participants described the widespread destruction of public infrastructure, with roads in dilapidated condition and electricity and gas systems in a state of extreme disrepair. They also highlighted a public health emergency, with epidemics spreading due to brackish drinking water, while residents’ incomes are continuously declining.
The education system was described as completely inadequate, with rural schools presenting a “scene of ruins.” Speakers lamented that Badin has neither a specialized heart hospital nor a university for higher education, and said that continuous protests to grant the Laar campus full university status are having no effect on the “deaf ears of the rulers.”
Widespread and systematic corruption was identified as the root cause of the area’s devastation. The local government system was termed “dysfunctional,” while the irrigation and drainage departments were called “dens of corruption.” It was alleged that an annual budget of billions of rupees is embezzled through fake records of canal cleaning and desilting, which never actually takes place.
The region’s agricultural sector is also in crisis. Farmers, particularly tomato growers who are among the top producers in Asia, are being weakened by artificially low prices for their produce. This forces them to sell their crops as cattle feed and makes them perpetually indebted to factory owners and shopkeepers.
The event also included a cultural segment, featuring a mushaira (poetry recital). Renowned Sindhi artist Ustad Allah Dino Junejo mesmerized the audience by performing the poetry of Laar’s famous poet, Haji Ahmed Mallah. Verses from the work of Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai were also recited to illuminate his philosophy.