SUKKUR, April 14 The employees of the taluka municipal administration (TMA) of the city continued their strike on the fourth day on Wednesday and locked the TMA offices in protest against non-payment of their salary and pension and gratuity of retired employees.

The employees also observed token hunger strike on the premises of the TMA offices. The employees told journalists that they had not been paid salary for the last two months and the retired employees had been denied pension and gratuity funds. They said that they were determined to continue their strike till they received salary.

They blamed the Sindh government for creating financial crisis in the TMA and making it unable to pay salary to its staff and pension and gratuity funds to retired employees.

Meanwhile, heaps of garbage littered the roads and streets of the city as sanitary workers had also boycotted their work. The strike disrupted supply of water and disposal of drain water. As a result, drains overflowed in the areas, including Clock Tower roundabout, Nishter, Miani and Shikarpur roads, Regent Chowk and old town.

Irked by the situation, shopkeepers of Nishter Road shut their shops and staged at sit-in. They blocked the road by burning tyres on it.

ASP City Asad Sarfaraz rushed to the site of the protest but failed to persuade shopkeepers to end their protest. Later, the ASP brought small traders' leader Haji Haroon Memon and the TMA administrator Nawab Ali to the place and they convinced the protesters to give some time to the TMA to bring an end to the strike and restore civic facilities.

Negotiations between the TMA employees union and officials on ending the strike were in progress till Wednesday evening.

Our Khairpur correspondent adds Over 100 sanitary workers took out a procession from the taluka municipal office to Punj Gulla Chowk on Wednesday in protest against non-payment of their salary for the last about two to three months and also refusing to regularise them.

They also staged a protest sit-in on Punj Gulla roundabout and raised slogans against the TMA officials.

Talking to journalists, they said that they had been working under the taluka municipal administration for the last over three years but the TMA was not regularising them and had also blocked their monthly salary.

They later blocked the Mall Road near Chhatti Chowk and disrupted traffic. They pledged to continue their protest if they were denied a regularised job and salary.

When contacted, EDO revenue/Taluka Municipal Administrator of Khairpur, Umer Farooq Bullo, said that a small number of sanitary workers was appointed as on temporary basis a few years ago while there was a ban on recruitment in government departments.

He said that there was no sanctioned budget for their salaries when they were appointed. He said that ghost employees were taking advantage of it by demanding their earlier salaries.