Blind persons protest in Lahore for regularisation, increase in job quota

LAHORE: Dozens of visually impaired persons blocked the route of the Metro Bus Service in Lahore on Thursday in protest, demanding the Punjab government to regularise the blind ad hoc employees and increase their job quota.

This was the fourth consecutive day of demonstrations in Lahore by blind persons, but the protest gained intensity on Wednesday after demonstrators beat the gates of the Punjab Assembly with sticks and stones, with some protesters trying to climb into the building.

Demonstrators staged a protest again in the provincial capital today on the route of the Metro Bus, temporarily disrupting the public transportation service and causing problems for commuters.

Protesters say they are appealing to the chief minister to take notice of their demands and to redress their grievances.

Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah told Geo News today that the provincial government is trying to permanently resolve the issue of blind persons’ employment.

On Wednesday, a spokesperson for the Social Welfare Department said that the visually impaired persons are protesting against the government for allegedly not fulfilling the chief minister’s orders for their recruitment against the disabled quota in government employment.

A delegation of the Pakistan Association of the Blind had met Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif for redressing their contentions previously. The chief minister subsequently accorded approval to lifting a ban on recruitment against reserved quota for the disabled and enhancing the disabled quota in government employment, which was raised from 2 percent to 3pc by the Punjab assembly in March 2015.

But government officials say Punjab’s share in the overall unemployment rate of the country is the highest therefore, adjusting the visually blind alone when general unemployment is rampant is not a task that can be resolved overnight.