HYDERABAD: Activists of the Sindh Taraqqi-pasand Party (STP) held protests and took out rallies on Thursday in favour of sugar cane growers of the province who are running from pillar to post in desperation because sugar millers are not paying them the official notified rate of Rs182 per 40kg for their commodity.

In Hyderabad, scores of STP activists held a protest demonstration against injustices being faced by sugar cane growers.Carrying banners and party flags, they chanted slogans against the Sindh government and `Zardari league` outside the local press club.

Led by STP central leaders Nusrat Channa and Qadir Channa, they said the Sindh government destroyed agriculture of the province and the rulers of Sindh were reluctant to force millers to pay fair price of cane.

They said the growers were coerced to sell their crop at lower price; they were being economically murdered since the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) had assumed power in Sindh10 years ago.

They warned that they would not allow the rulers to commit injustices with poor growers anymore and they would fight for the rights of the oppressed workers.

Similar protests were held in many districts of Sindh, including Tando Mohammad Khan, Tando Allahyar, Matiari, Jamshoro and others.

Recently, STP chairman Dr Qadir Magsi had announced a province-wide protest on De c 14 and a shutter-down strike on Dec 19 against nonimplementation of the price by the millers.

He announced this dur-ing a press conference held at the party office.

STP activists also took out a rally in Jacobabad and held a protest in Sukkur against baton charge of sugar cane growers in Karachi.

According to reports, the rally in Jacobabad was taken out from the STP district office led by taluka party president Abdul Razzak Laghari, Mohammad Umar Solangi and Syed Ali Shah.

The protesters marched on differentroads ofthe city after which they reached the local press club where they raised slogans and held a sit-in, suspending flow oftraffic on both sides of the road for some time.

In Sukkur, a protest demo and a sit-in was staged.

Speaking on the occasion, local party leaders said the Sindh government had failed to give relief to the growers.

Instead of resolving problems of the growers, the Sindh police had baton charged the peasants participating in a protest held against excesses of sugar millers, they said.

They demanded action against those policemen who were involved in torture of sugar cane growers in Karachi and implementation of the cane rates noti-fied by the government.

A large number of STP workers took out a rally and staged a demonstration at Kashmir Chowk in Mithi in favour of the cane growers.

Local party leaders held the PPP leadership and Sindh government responsible for the mess created by millers.

They demanded that all mills should be seale d if they failed to pay the fixed rate of the crop to farmers.

Farmers and STP workers took out rallies in Badin, Tando Bago, Talhar, Tando Ghulam Ali and other towns against the sugar millers and Sindh government.