December 12, 2002	Thursday	Shawwal 7, 1423

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MIRPURKHAS, Dec 11: The local growers on Wednesday complained that their grievances, regarding water distribution and water theft in the Nara Canal command area, were not being redressed after the waterway was handed over to the farmer organisations.

The Nara Canal Area Water Board had been made responsible under the new reforms, but the water board’s director was reportedly too busy to hear the Abadgars’ complaints.

There has also been a surge in complaints regarding shortage of water and mismanagement after the distributaries were handed over to the farmers’ organisations.

This has prompted the growers to stage demonstrations to protest against inequitable water distribution.

In a related development, a member of the Nara Canal Area Water Board, Zahid Hussain Bhurgari, on Wednesday accused the irrigation authorities of supplying more water to the Rohri Canal — despite abundance of underground sweet water in its command area — creating a shortage in the Nara Canal command area.

He said that many breaches had occurred because of the oversupply of water in the Rohri Canal command area.

Irrigation authorities, he said, had failed to close down about 250 pumping machines, which had been installed illegally on the banks of the Nara Canal in Khairpur district.

He said that he would send a detailed report to President Gen Pervez Musharraf directly about the situation.

DEMONSTRATION: Over two dozen owners of Telecard public call offices staged a demonstration here on Wednesday outside the local office of the Telecard.

They were protesting against the suspension of the pre-paid wireless phone service for the past 10 days.

Protestors, while talking to newsmen, they called for restoration of the pre-paid phone card services without any further delay.

LOOTED: Five armed men looted a petrol pump located at the Hyderabad Road, and deprived its manager, Abdul Hakeem, of Rs24,000a in cash late Tuesday night.

The Old Mirpur police have lodged a case against unidentified culprits.

PPP: MNA Syed Qurban Ali Shah on Tuesday said that hurdles are being created in the path of the PPP in the formation of the Sindh government.