Complete strike was observed in Bhakkar town on Saturday. All educational institutions, government offices, shopping centres and markets remained closed to mourn 62 people who died on Thursday when the bus they were travelling in turned turtle and fell in the canal.
Their relatives and thousands others staged a demonstration in the town, burnt tyres, and put obstacles on the roads. Many of the strikers also hurled stones and bricks on official vehicles in protest against reactivation of Thal canal without completion of rescue work. They claimed that bodies of four or five persons were still missing .
"We have decided to observe three-day mourning in Bhakkar District to express sympathy and solidarity with the victims' families," said Hameed Akbar Nevani, District Nazim of Bhakkar.
He said that a three-member committee headed by District Police Officer has been constituted to find the real causes of this mishap.
An army inquiry team headed by Colonel Shahid also reached Bhakkar to investigate the real cause of the mishap. The team met the District Nazim Hameed Akbar Nevani, District Police Officer Shehzad Sultan, Executive Engineer Irrigation Khawar Naeem. The team also met the bereaved families to condole the deaths on behalf of the President.