SUKKUR, Oct 16: Sindh Chief Minister Sardar Ali Mohammad Mahar has vowed to strengthen the local government system, saying it has solved problems of the people.

He was addressing a public meeting at the Mohammad Bin Qasim Park here on Wednesday.

The chief minister lauded President Musharraf for his sustained economic policy. He said the Thar coal project would change the lives of millions of people because it would produce 600MGW electricity and would further be extended to 5000MGW.

He said the country was facing a shortage of water and Sindh had to suffer most because it was situated at the tail-end.

The chief minister asked the audience, if it would be right to ignore the future of our coming generations when there would be even more water crisis due to silt accumulation in water reservoirs.

He said the country must have as many dams as possible to meet the problem of water shortage. He said water projects, including the Kalabagh dam, would only be constructed after reaching a consensus among the provinces. He disclosed that soon the four chief ministers would hold a meeting on the issue of water reservoirs.

He said since the devolution of power, millions of rupees were received from the federal government for disbursement among the district governments. The system is meant for the welfare of the people right from the grass root level, he said.

He urged the people to support and strengthen the system for carrying on the pace of reforms and social development because it would be in their interest.

The chief minister claimed the government had brought out the Sindh province from a critical situation.

Whatever the government of President Musharraf had achieved was not done in a day but it was the result of four years’ constant and sustained struggle.

In this regard, he referred to the performance of the stock exchange index and increase of foreign exchange reserves of the country to more than 11 billion dollars. He said there was a real democracy in practice now a days, in which even “I, the chief minister of Sindh am accountable to my people”.

He welcomed a large number of leaders and workers of Pakistan People’s Party and Tehrik-e-Insaf who announced their joining the PML in his presence.

The chief minister announced starting MCS and MSc classes in the government girls degree college, sanctioned a bypass for Pano Akil cantonment, construction of two outlets from Nara Canal, a filter water plant for Sukkur.

District Nazim Syed Nasir Hussain Shah said due to positive policies over the years the graph of suicides and self- immolations in Sindh province had come down.

He said people had come out of the state of hopelessness and frustration due to the government policies.

Former MPA Taj Mohammad Shaikh hosted a dinner for chief minister Sindh at the Public School which was attended by a large number of party workers and officials.