July 6, 2003	Sunday	Jumadi-ul-Awwal 5,1424

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HYDERABAD, July 5: The Sindh Abagar Board has challenged the claim of Federal Water and Power Minister Aftab Ahmad Sherpao that the greater Thal canal project is a part of the 1991 water accord.

In a statement issued here on Saturday, SAB president Abdul Majeed Nizamani invited Mr Sherpao to come to Sindh with his team along with Wapda officials and prove his claim at a meeting with technocrats, irrigation experts and representatives of growers’ organizations.

He reminded the minister that the World Bank, in absence of feasibility reports and without approval from any forum, had refused to provide funds for Thal canal, Reni canal and Kachhi canal projects. He said the WB had termed construction of these canals waste of money without feasibility reports.

Mr Nizamani further said assemblies of three provinces had also rejected the Thal canal construction and advocated commissioning small dams instead of big projects.

Meanwhile, the SAB working committee, at a meeting held here on Saturday, warned the government that after signing the World Trade Organization agreement and rapprochement with India, agriculture sector of the country would be destroyed if it did not take remedial measures.

The meeting appealed to the government to reject conditions put by the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and the Asian Development Bank in the interest of national economy and extend same facilities to the agriculture sector which had been provided by the US, European Union Japan and India to their growers. It proposed that the government should withdraw form the WTO if it was helpless before international agencies.

Expressing concern over the erosion of embankment of the River Indus near Bhanote, the meeting demanded that the embankment should be strengthened.

The SAB pointed out that during the last nine years, Sindh had suffered huge losses due to drought and water shortage. In view of this situation, it demanded, agricultural loans should be waived off.

The meeting further demanded that one SDO should be posted in Hala irrigation sub-division to avoid corruption and mal-administration. It said that due to the posting of two SDOs, water in some channels below Saeedabad was flowing full while other channels were lying dry.