Daily Times

GHOTKI: The public gathering organised by the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) at Dhaharki, district Ghotki has become a victim of ill-planning and misappropriation, creating serious problems for the party’s leadership and workers, Daily Times has witnessed.

Both the tracks of the main national highway that connects Sindh with other parts of the provinces remained choked all morning as workers had set up welcome camps at the main national highway. The roads from Ghotki to Ubauro witnessed terrible traffic the whole day.

The situation went from bad to worse when the traffic police personnel, deputed to maintain traffic flow refused to perform their duties following no response from the PPP leadership and the participating workers. The traffic police and district police seemed helpless before the workers as they did not follow the guidelines to enter the venue of the gathering.

“No one here is ready to follow the traffic rules. I am going home as my presence doesn’t make any impact on workers,” a traffic police inspector, who wished not be named, told Daily Times. The special security personnel came into action when PPP workers forcibly tried to enter the venue by entering from the VVIP gate. The security personnel manhandled the workers and journalists by pushing them back at the gate.

The venue of the public gathering was selected two kilometers away from the main national highway in Rehrki, a town of taluka Dhaharki, Ghotki. Advisor to Chief Minister on Religious Affairs Dr Dr Abdul Qayyum Soomro repeatedly requested the district management to control traffic flow and asked workers to coordinate with the authorities but to no avail.

“I am receiving phone calls that a large number of party workers are stuck in a traffic jam in a 10km area of the national highway,” the advisor said. Moreover, the portion which was allotted for media persons was forcibly occupied by the party workers. Besides, the food packs of lunch for media persons were snatched by party workers from volunteers of PPP Media Cell.

With poor arrangements, the journalists, however, on a self help basis climbed on a container at a corner of the venue and covered the gathering.