HYDERABAD, March 26: A group of students belonging to Jeay Sindh Students Federation (JSSF) staged a demonstration outside the press club against the vice-chancellor of Mehran University of Engineering and Technology and the university’s project director.

The party’s central general secretary Suriah Sindhi and Aslam Solangi alleged that the vice-chancellor and project director had all but destroyed the university. When the JSSF central president Kehar Ansari and Hafeez Pirzada raised their voice they were sent to jail, they claimed.

They demanded that the government should remove the vice-chancellor and project director and order an inquiry conducted into their alleged malpractices.

They announced that the party would observe hunger strike unto death outside the press club on March 29 until the two were removed.

Our correspondent reports: Barbers pledged on Monday to participate fully in an NGOs’ drive for creating awareness about the spread of hepatitis and HIV/AIDS.

On of the four reasons for the spread of the two diseases is multiple use of a razor blade for shaving more than one people besides unsafe sexual activity, transfusion of unscreened blood and multiple use of a syringe.

The All-Sindh Hairdressers Association (ASHA) President Jamil Ahmed vowed at a consultative organised by the Sindh Health and Education Development Society (SHEDS) at labour hall that the barbers would be ready to get themselves examined for HIV/AIDS and hepatitis tests and also try to convince their regular customers to get the tests done.

He said that tissue papers and some anti-germs chemicals, which were available with the health department, should be provided to hairdressers because many of his colleagues could not afford buying them.

The SHEDS office-bearers informed the participants about aims and objectives of the NGO’s “better tomorrow” project against the deadly diseases and the project's central manager Wajid Shams urged the hair-dressers to avoid multiple use of a blade on more than one customer as it might lead to the spread of diseases.