Police baton charge Torkhow protesters on way to Booni

BOONI: Protesters from Torkhow on Sunday reached Booni after the district government failed to meet their demands of expediting work on their road and take action against alleged misuse of the funds. 

For the last many weeks, people of Torkhow have been protesting against delay in the construction of the Booni-Buzund road and alleged embezzlement of funds by the C&W department and teh contractor.

Work on the road was started about six years ago and has not yet been completed.

Recently, the people of Torkhow and Mulkhow had asked the district administration to ensure speedy work on the project and register a case against the C&W officials and the contractor for alleged misuse of funds otherwise they would launch a march to Booni.

After seeing no progress, the protesters on Sunday held a long march towards Booni to record their protest. When the peaceful protesters crossed Istaru, a contingent of police tried to stop them from moving to Booni and resorted to baton charge. As a result, one of the protesters was injured and shifted to hospital in Booni where his condition was stated out of danger.

The protesters continued their march and reached Booni where they were joined by local political workers and civil society activists. The protesters staged a sit-in at Booni Chowk and vowed to continue it till acceptance of their demands.

Work on the about seven kilometers road was to be completed by October 30, according to an agreement between the people and officials of the Communications and Works Department and the contractor concerned. However, there was no progress on the assurance even after the expiry of the deadline.

The estimated cost of the project was Rs300 million initially, which has now jumped to over Rs1.5 billion, said local people.