BAHAWALPUR: Thousands of workers of the contractors of the Suthra Punjab project in the 14 tehsil headquarters of Bahawalpur division have threatened to go on strike from Jan 15 owing to non-payments.

As per details, the workers have been facing financial strains due to the non-payment, whereas the contractors claim to have repeatedly approached the concerned authorities and informed them in writing of their outstanding payments.

Sources claim that the contractors had been told that their payments were withheld allegedly by the Punjab local government department. Some contractors have alleged that their payments were stopped by the local bodies minister for unknown reasons.

When contacted, the Bahawalpur Waste Management Company (BWMC) PRO confirmed that the contractors’ payments had been withheld. He claimed that CEO Naeem Akhtar had been trying to resolve the issue and was presently in contact with the affected contractors.

However, Dawn was unable to get a comment from the CEO till the filing of this report.

Published in Dawn, January 14th, 2026