Labourers working on dam suspend protest after colleague’s death

MANSEHRA: Labourers working on 830 megawatts Suki Kinari hydropower project have suspended protest for one day after one of their colleagues died of cardiac arrest during the protest in Paras area of Kaghan valley on Friday.

“Our colleague has died of a heart attack during the protest against the excesses being committed by the company working on the dam and we will continue protest from tomorrow (Saturday),” stated Tahir Hussain Shah, a labour leader, while speaking to the media on Friday.

The protesters were raising slogans in support of their demands on the second consecutive day of the protest when a worker, Mohammad Shafqat, stated to be a mason by profession, died of cardiac arrest on the spot.

The protesters rushed him to a nearby hospital where doctors pronounced him dead. “Our protest against the company working on the mega energy project would be restarted from Saturday and would continue until our rights guaranteed by the Constitution of this country are met,” said Shah.

He said that workers were in the streets against GCC Company, which he said was not following labour laws and victimising them.

“We are deprived of all basic rights, wages and incentives granted by the labour laws in the country and abroad,” he added.

He warned they would never allow anybody to execute the mega energy project until their demands were met. Salahuddin Shah, another labour leader, said that they would keep the work suspended on the dam until their salaries, medical allowance, leaves and other incentives were equalised to standards fixed by the labour law.

Arshad Khan, another protester, said that they had taken up their demands with the Balakot assistant commissioner for several times but to no avail.