Hundreds of angry protestors stormed the Jinnah Convention Centre hall chanting slogans against organisers, National Reconstruction Bureau (NRB) and Devolution Trust for Community Empowerment (DTCE) over barring them to attend the function, after Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz left the function.
Protestors, who have been invited to participate in the ceremony, were stopped at the main gate when the Prime Minister arrived and were allowed to enter after around two hours when the Prime Minister left the hall, which angered members of the citizens community boards (CCBs).
"We have been invited here to attend the function but instead they insulted us by denying entry. It is total failure on the part of the administration and nothing else," protestors told reporters.
They got hold of the stage and delayed proceedings of the function for over one hour and it was very difficult for organisers to control the situation. However, NRB chairman Daniyal Aziz, after holding talks with protestors, expressed deep sorrow over the misshape and clarified that security agencies took control of all entrance points of the hall as the Prime Minister arrived, which is due to prevailing security situation in the country.
When asked for comments, Daniyal Aziz rejected the impression that the incident had taken place due to mismanagement or shortage of seats in the hall.
"They invited more people than the capacity in the hall so it is not ours but their fault," protesting members of CCBs told newsmen. The incident made the ceremony unpleasant and embarrassed organisers as representatives of donor agencies were also present on the occasion.
The DTCE invited CCBs members from 13 districts of the country, approximately 150 persons from each district, one of the members of CCBs told Business Recorder.
Another member from Swabi rejected the DTCE claim of providing development funds and enquired in the presence of NRB chairman to tell them where they spent the approved Rs 12.2 million development fund as, according to him, there was no single project completed in the Swabi district.
Earlier, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz awarded prizes to four members of the CCBs for successfully carrying out development projects on their own.
Those who received awards were Alia Kosar from Lasbella district (Balochistan), Tufail Ahmed from Charsadda district (NWFP), Mohammad Siddique from Sindh and Shahnaz Kosar from Narowal (Punjab).