- Farmers hold large sit-in in front of Punjab Assembly, demand govt announce subsidy for sector and fix prices of crops compatible with expenses
- YDA says won’t allow privatization of govt hospitals
The Lahore administration found itself facing two major protests on Thursday – one by the famers community who were protesting against the Punjab government’s ‘anti-farmer’ policies and the other by young doctors who are opposed to the government’s decision of handing over hospitals to the private sector.
Farmers from all over the province staged a sit-in in front of the Punjab Assembly on Thursday afternoon which continued into the night.
Terming the provincial government of Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif an “enemy of agriculturists”, the protesting landowners and their peasants protested against the government for not fulfilling its promises.
Haji Muhammad Boota, president of Pakistan Kisaan Ittehad Bahawalnagar, told Pakistan Today that the government had announced Rs 1,400 per maund price for wheat this year but it did not buy all the stock from farmers, forcing them to sell it to the middle men for Rs 1,000 per maund.
Another farmer named Liaqat Ali who cultivates two acres of land said that the cotton price is Rs 1,800 per maund whereas the PML-Q government had fixed the price at Rs 6,000 per maund during its government.
“Shehbaz Sharif must fix the price of cotton to at least Rs 4,000 so that cotton growers can meet their expenses,” he said.
Afzaal Ahmad, a landowner from Okara, accused the government of tampering with electricity bills of farmers and said that he could not even manage his expenses. According to him, Punjab Irrigation Minister Mian Yawar Zamaan belongs to his constituency and he had assured them that their issues would be resolved amicably, however he did not keep his promise.
Haji Fiaz Baloch, a big landowner from Multan, said that PML-N was not a farmer-friendly party as the community had to come out on the roads every time during its rule. “I own 1,000 acres yet I’m sitting here to show solidarity with my fellow agriculturists and poor peasants who are directly affected by the government’s policies,” he said.
Pakistan Kissan Ittehad President Khalid Mehmood Khokhar said that they would stage a sit-in for two days in Lahore and then they will move towards Islamabad to exert pressure on the federal government for farmers’ rights.
Khokhar said the farmers were demanding subsidy of Rs 1 billion and price of electricity units on agriculture tube-wells to be fixed at Rs 5 per unit.
YOUNG DOCTORS PROTEST:
While the farmers had occupied the Charing Cross Chowk in front of Punjab Assembly, activists of the Young Doctors Association (YDA) blocked another section of The Mall, Jail Road, Ferozepur Road and canal road raising slogans against the privatization of hospitals.
Talking to Pakistan Today, Mayo Hospital YDA President Dr Matloob Mughal said that they were protesting against the government for announcing privatization of hospitals and for reneging on its promises made with the YDA regarding salaries for PG trainees.
YDA Information Secretary Dr Khurram Shehzad said the young doctors would not call off their protests until the government abandoned its privatization decision.
According to some reports, the government issued a notification of confirming paid jobs to PG trainees but doctors claimed that they have not received any such notification yet.