People take to streets in Chhachhro against closure of RO plants.

MITHI -- People took to the streets in Chhachhro town and its adjoining areas on Saturday and staged a demonstration outside local press club to register protest against closure of reverse osmosis plants in their areas.

The protesters' leaders, Zulfikar Ali Nohrio, Mohammad Iqbal Rahimoon, Mohammad Yousuf Nohrio and others, told journalists that the plants' operators had shut down the facilities in the town and adjoining villagers in protest after the private firm that had hired their services stopped paying their salaries for past many months.

They said that thousands of people were deprived of safe drinking water for past many days with the closure of the plants and demanded the Sindh government clear the firm's dues to enable it to pay salaries to its employees.

They said the government functionaries were unnecessarily dilly-dallying on renewing the firm's contract and clearing its dues, leading hundreds of its workers to go on a strike and shut down the plants.

They feared if the operators did not end the strike many plants would cease to exist forever as unscrupulous elements might cause damage to their sensitive parts.

They warned of observing a shutdown strike in the town if the plants were not made functional within next few days. The firm's contract...