LAHORE: Punjab Assembly opposition leader Mahmoodur Rashid led a procession on Sunday against the alleged massive corruption committed in executing Nandipur power project.
Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf MPAs and workers from the provincial metropolis and adjoining districts participated in the demonstration held outside the Nandipur power house in Gujranwala district. On the conclusion of the demo, a ‘sit-in’ was also staged.
En route to Nandipur, the PTI protesters were greeted by their charged party fellows who showered rose petals on them at Shahdara, Mudridke, Kamonki and some other places.
The protesters chanting slogans including “Prime Minister Imran Khan’, alleged the Nandipur power project was the biggest fraud the PML-N government had committed.
Party MPAs, including Sadia Suhail, Sibtain Khan, Ahmed Khan Bhacchar, Malik Waheed Dogar, Shanila Roaat, besides media advisor Rana Akhtar and others, began the protest from Lahore early on Sunday morning.
PTI Nandipur president Rana Naeemur Rehman, his wife MPA Naheed Naeem, Azeem Noori Ghumman, central Punjab secretary general Saeed Basra and hundreds of workers joined the procession at different spots. Party workers riding motorcycles also kept joining the rally all the way up to Nandipur.
On reaching Nandipur, the demonstrators raised slogans against massive loadshedding and rising prices of edible items during Ramazan. They also raised slogans against the killings in Model Town incident.
They staged a sit-in for several hours in the scorching heat there.
Addressing the protesters, Mehmoodur Rashid said the Punjab government had been fooling the masses by showing them a fake MoU on the Nandipur power project. He said the government ‘ploy’ of changing the power transmission lines was another fraud.
He said the initial Nandipur project cost announced by the government was Rs22 billion but it was raised to Rs57 billion without any logic, alleging the differential was pocketed by the rulers.
He said the local administration had tired to block the roads for the protesters by parking oil tankers but the PTI workers overcame the obstructions and attended the demonstration in thousands.
Mr Rashid said thousands of industrial units in Gujranwala, Gujrat, Sialkot and Lahore were closed down due to massive loadshedding, rendering millions of workers jobless.
He said the rulers must now leave the corridors of power and give someone else a chance to serve the people.
Published in Dawn, July 14th, 2014