LAHORE: Visually impaired protestors on Wednesday demanded the government to ensure “regularised livelihood” on the third consecutive day of their protest sit-in on Mall Road, Lahore.
President of the “blind daily wager”, Umar Rasheed, while talking to a local media outlet, complained that the government was not paying heed to their demands.
He said that protesters wanted “regularized livelihood” for all visually impaired people across the province.
He said that over 1,000 visually impaired daily wage employees working in various departments of the Punjab government receive salaries after an interval of several months and are not assigned any work in their respective departments neither are they given any designations.
He added that this state of affairs has led many to believe that the employment of visually impaired persons in the provincial government is only a temporary arrangement.
Rasheed said that protestors are demanding regularisation of employment for daily wagers and provision of livelihood to unemployed visually impaired people.
He said that no assurance from government quarters had yet come.
He said that on Tuesday protesters intercepted the vehicle of provincial minister Fayaz ul Hassan Chohan — who was on his way to the chief minister’s house — but instead of engaging in talks with protestors the minister changed his route.
Rasheed said that over 100 visually impaired persons were taking part in the sit-in.
