–Sit-in continues on fifth day as talks fail between govt, protesting employees
–Traffic flow severely disrupted on roads leading to Charing Cross
LAHORE: The employees of Punjab Land Revenue Authority (PLRA) continued their protest on the fifth consecutive day on Friday as the talks between the protesters and the government failed to produce any conclusive results.
The protesters, who are holding a sit-in at Charing Cross, demand the establishment of a proper service structure and an increase in their salaries. As a result of the protest, over 152 Arazi Record Centres (ARC) across the province have been shut down, rendering the land authority virtually dysfunctional.
Speaking to Pakistan Today, the officials of the land authority voiced their grievances against the administration and the provincial government.
“The administration seems to ignore the fact that it was our tireless efforts that led to the establishment of PLRA in the first place. We were the ones who had earlier worked at the Project Management Unit (PMU) of the Land Record Information System (LRIS), which was later transformed into PLRA,” a protesting employee said.
In January, PLRA employees went on strike after the administration failed to meet their demands.
“That strike was called off when former finance minister Colonel (r) Anwar Khan assured the employees that a service structure would be set up within three months,” an ARC official said, adding that the government failed to fulfil its promise, leading to the employees rising up for their rights once again.
Arazi Record Centre Union Punjab’s (ARCUP) Action Committee Chairman Ateeq Randhawa said that talks were held with PLRA Chairman Ahmed Khan Dirishak but every time both sides failed to reach a settlement.
“The first set of talks headed by Union President Mian Shahid Mehmood were held at Punjab Assembly which turned out to be inconclusive, the second round of talks were held on Friday at the PLRA headquarters which too failed to produce a formal agreement,” he said.
“We will not be duped by verbal assurances by a government representative as we want an official notification guaranteeing us our rights,” he added.
Randhawa said that if their demands are not met by the government then the employees would stage simultaneous sit-ins in front of the chief minister’s secretariat and residence.
On November, 11 PLRA officials from across the province initiated their protest at Chrring Cross, causing a severe disruption in the flow of traffic in and around Mall road.
Roads leading up to Charing Cross remain congested as City Traffic Police (CTP) personnel have been deployed at various points to divert traffic to other routes.
