Imran Sumalani:
QUETTA: Labourers and contractors staged a protest demonstration against the continued closure of coal mines in Balochistan’s Mach Bolan area on Friday. They took out a rally in Mach town, which turned into a protest demonstration outside the Mach Press Club.
“We demanded an immediate reopening of our coal mines”, Mir Ahmed Jan Kurd, the central leader of the mines owners association said. The mines owners and labourers association leaders addressed the protesters and demanded an immediate reopening of mines.
The protesters were also carrying placards and banners inscribed with slogans criticizing the Mach administration and Balochistan government for their failure to reopen coal mines in the area. Local administration had closed coal mines because of security reasons, local people said.
Thousands jobless after the closure of coal mines
“Closure of mines has deprived thousands of labourers of their jobs”, Mir Shah Nawaz Marri, another mine owner claimed. He said despite repeated appeals, the provincial government was not able to restore coal mines in the area.
Today, we are forced to go out on the streets, starving in our homes and we are left in need of food due to unemployment, children’s school fees, electricity and gas bills and inflation have troubled us, the protesters lamented.
Miners threaten to intensify protest
Ten thousand people in Mach were deprived of their jobs, Shah Nawaz Marri claimed. Due to the closure of the Marget Mines area, they have become unemployed, on the other hand, machinery worth crores of rupees is becoming inoperable, Mr. Marri asserted.
He clarified that there is no political motive or suspicion of any institution, nor is our demand to criticize or praise anyone. The government is out of tolerance and the higher authorities are requested not to take our livelihood from us, he added. The protesters announced to take decisions on the future course of action on Sunday, October 1.
