(title)

Unpaid amounts: G-B contractors give govt 2 days to clear dues

GILGIT: The Gilgit–Baltistan (G-B) Contractor Association has threatened to stop all ongoing projects and launch protests across the region if the government fails to clear their dues within in the next two days.

A few contractors staged a sit-in in front of the Diamer district administration headquarters, demanding payment of millions of rupees that the government owes them for various construction projects.

After chairing a meeting of the association on Thursday, Shaukat Ali, the president of G-B Contractor Association said the contractors have chalked out a plan to observe strikes from Monday in all districts of G-B if their demands are not met.

They vowed to launch a hunger strike if the government remained indifferent to their demands.

The contractors said they have not been paid money for their work even though the federal government has released money to the G-B government.

The contractors recently abandoned work on dozens of ongoing projects to pressurise the government for the release of funds, however, they called off the boycott after assurances by the Minister for Works.

The minister claims that the government will soon release funds to all the contractors, adding that the matter has been taken up with the federal government.http://tribune.com.pk/story/485598/unpaid-amounts-g-b-contractors-give-govt-2-days-to-clear-dues/