November 20, 2001	Tuesday	Ramazan 4, 1422

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TOBA TEK SINGH, Nov 19: Influential farmers are misusing the irrigation water meant for their fish farmland.

This was blamed by scores of district council members at a meeting held here on Monday.

They said the district was already facing acute water shortage and most of the farmers had been unable to sow the wheat crop. But, influential cultivators either used the sanctioned water meant for fish farms for their own fields or sold it to other farmers.

Speaking on the occasion, district Nazim Chaudhry Muhammad Ashfaq admitted that in Toba Tek Singh tehsil alone, the irrigation water was largely being misused. He said the irrigation department should cancel all licences of fish farmers.

Some members were of the view that genuine fish farms should be enlisted and verified before taking any step in this respect.

District council convener Haji Ghulam Rabbani has formed a four-member committee comprising Rai Ziaullah Khan, Nadim Qasim Khan, Tariq Saeed and Tahir Pervaiz Anjum. The committee will examine the fish farms and take final decision in this regard.

The meeting was informed that the district council was ready to allot on lease the farmland situated along the river Ravi in Kamalia sub-division to promote fish farms.

Breach: A 10 feet breach in Teku minor canal inundated farmland of a nearby Chak 322-JB Shahzada on Monday morning.

The Irrigation department staff and area people were struggling to plug the breach till the filing of this report. The cause of the breach could not be known immediately.

A source told this correspondent that villagers had made illigal outlet to get drinking water to their cattle which resulted in the weakening of the canal bank.

WITHDRAWN: On the demands of citizens, tehsil council on Monday withdrew the raise in water supply fee and levying of a new fee on the sewerage line connections.

The tehsil council had approved the fees in its last budget session. But, later all three union council Nazims, Naib Nazims and councillors had held a protest meeting against the raise in fees.

HOUSE LOOTED: Five masked dacoits on Monday looted the house of a son of senior DBA member Aftab Ahmad Toor advocate in Noor Park locality.

Armed bandits forcibly entered the house of Khalid Toor, made the inmates hostage, scooped a TV set, cash and ornaments worth Rs100,000 and escaped with the booty.