November 18, 2003	Tuesday	Ramazan 22, 1424

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MIRPURKHAS, Nov 17: Sindh Sugarcane Growers Association president MNA Syed Qurban Ali Shah has said only the Sanghar Sugar Mill has started crushing while the remaining 27 mills of the province are lying closed.

Talking to journalists at the press club here on Monday, he criticized the Sindh government for not taking legal action against sugar mills which had violated its order to start the crushing season from Nov 15.

He regretted that the government had not issued a notification regarding the payment of quality premium to growers. About Rs4 billion was outstanding as quality premium against the sugar mills, he added.

Mr Shah demanded that the government should issue the notification and redress grievances of growers.

He said growers had already suffered huge losses as the weight of the standing crop of sugarcane had decreased.

Answering a question, the SSGA president said the government should promulgate an ordinance so that appropriate legal action could be taken against mill owners who withheld growers’ money.

He said the government was making sugar policy without the consent of growers’ associations.

UPLIFT SCHEMES: As many as 89 development schemes at an estimated cost of Rs43 million have been submitted by 21 citizen’s community boards in the district.